No Other Road, ,No Other Way
by Sonata Rapp
Summary: Sequel to No Day But Yesterday. Roger turned down Europe and married Mark. Now they are adopting a child. Can the gang keep their friendship together as they struggle to keep up with their lives?
1. Chapter 1

No Other Road, No Other Way

Author's Note: Hello all. I'm back and so is the RENT gang of ten years in the future. This is the sequel to my story No Day but Yesterday. If you haven't read that one yet, go read it. Every thing that happens in this story is a direct result of that one. Anyway, I don't own RENT or any of the characters as always. And I'd like to give a special thanks to Hayden Bryson who helped with the writing of this story.

Chapter 1

"Get up Roger. It's like almost noon. We're gonna be late if we don't leave soon." A skinny blond man with glasses was shaking a larger blond man as he laid in bed snoring. "Come on Roger!"

Roger rolled over and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the pale and anxious face of his lover Mark. "What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"It's a quarter to twelve and our meeting's at one." Mark responded.

"Crap!" Roger shouted, bolting from the bed. This wasn't what he had wanted to say, but he was making an effort to watch his language in light of the situation. Mark and Roger were on the verge of getting a child. Today was the last meeting before the adoption was final. They had been legally committed for a year and they had decided it was time. Last night the lovers had been "celebrating" the upcoming adoption. It was because of this that Roger was, well, indecent when he went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Luckily for him, the kitchen was inhabited by a lesbian couple who were used to Roger being indecent in the morning.

"Jesus, Maureen, Joanne!" Roger exclaimed when he walked into the kitchen. He ran back into the bedroom where Mark was doubled over in laughter. "You could have warned me you know." he said scowling as he got dressed hurriedly.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have gotten such a great laugh." Mark replied.

"If I didn't love you." Roger threatened under his breath.

"But you do." Mark said going over to the musician. "And I love you. I think we proved that last night."

Roger couldn't stay mad at Mark. He loved him too much for that. He raised an eyebrow. "Want to prove it again?" he asked.

Mark playfully slapped Roger on the arm. "You know I'd love to. But we don't have time and we've got company. You know how we tend to get- er, carried away."

And Roger was forced to agree. So instead the two went back into the kitchen to talk to the girls. They looked up and smiled as the boys entered.

"Where's Jaylah?" Roger asked.

"She's staying with Collins today while we help you two." Maureen responded.

"And why exactly are you here?" Roger wanted to know. "I mean Joanne is our lawyer, but do we really need a receptionist?"

"Ha ha." Maureen said back. "For your information I have expertise in the field of adoption, seeing as I did play apart in Jaylah's four years ago, Mr. Ex- Rockstar."

"Oh that's right." Roger agreed. "It's good to have you coming with us Maureen. You never know when a diva will come in handy." Every one knew that with Maureen it was better to just let her win. It saved a lot of time.

"Oh Roger, Mark." Joanne said. "Mimi called while you two were in there doing heaven knows what. She said good luck today and that she'll see you all on Saturday." Now that the friends all lived in different places, they tried t make an effort to keep in touch by meeting at the Life Café every second Saturday.

"Okay that's good. Just let me hit the shower and then I'll be ready to go." Roger said. While he was in the shower the phone rang. Mark decided to let the machine pick it up.

"Speeeeeeeaaaaaak!" went the machine. Joanne looked at Mark.

"You couldn't have changed that could you? It's so annoying." she said.

Mark grinned and listened to who was speaking on the machine.

"Hey Davis. This is Lanna. I just wanted to offer you congratulations on getting committed to Mark and good luck with the adoption. I know I'm a little, well a lot late. But I've been overseas. So keep in touch okay? I know we didn't exactly part well, but I've always liked you and I'd like it if we could be friends. Anyway call me when you get news about the kid. Bye."

"Isn't that cute, now she wants to be friends." Mark said sarcastically. "After practically disowning Roger because he was gay and he turned down that Europe deal, she wants to be friends."

"Mark this is Roger's business. If he wants to be friends with her, you shouldn't try to stop him. It's his call." Maureen said wisely.

"What's whose call?" Roger asked as he reentered the room. He had changed into a nice navy blue suit with a lighter blue tie. "To match my love's eyes." he said. Mark likewise had on a black suit with a green tie, to match Roger's eyes.

"Never mind." Mark said in response to Roger's question. "Let's just go before we're late." The four of them proceeded out to Joanne and Maureen's car to go into the city and meet with the adoption people.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mimi rolled out of bed at twelve noon that same day. She and Darren had done pretty much the same thing Mark and Roger had that past night. They were going to be married in lest than a month and they were very ready.

She remembered that today was the day Roger and Mark were meeting with the people about adopting a child. So she picked up the phone and called their house. Joanne had answered and they had finalized the plans for the dinner on Saturday. When she hung up Darren was looking at her.

"Who was that baby?" he asked.

"Oh that was my friend Joanne. I was actually calling for Roger to wish him luck. You know him and Mark are trying to adopt a child."

"Well if he'd find a woman he wouldn't have to worry about adoption now would he? So as I see it, it's his own fault for liking some dude." Darren replied scornfully.

Mimi heaved a sigh. "Darren let's not go down this road okay? These are my friends, and I love them. Besides you are in the wrong profession to be hating on gay guys. They are everywhere in the theaters. So just drop it." she scolded.

"I'm sorry baby." Darren said. "I know how close you are to your friends. Come back to bed and let me make it up to you."

"I can't" Mimi said simply. "I have to be at work in an hour. Those dancers won't choreograph their selves." and with that she headed to bathroom for a shower. It was funny. A year ago she'd been fantasizing about Roger in this very shower. Now he was pretty much married to Mark.

Collins was babysitting Maureen and Joanne's daughter. She was so much like her mothers that it was scary. Like Maureen, she was loud and chatty, she came up with all kinds of crazy statements. But like Joanne, she was actually able to back them up with evidence. Collins was so tired of her that he let her go outside and buy an ice-cream cone from the vendor down the street by herself.

Thirty minutes later she came back.

"Where have you been?" Collins exclaimed when she came in. "It doesn't take anyone thirty minutes to buy ice cream."

"No it doesn't." Jaylah said calmly. "But it does take at least twenty to discuss music with the vendor's son. We had very interesting conversation about which was better, the old back albums from The Well Hungarians or Roger's recent music. Needless to say I had a better view point than Arty, being that I actually know Roger."

Collins sank wearily down in an armchair. "Who's Arty?" he asked tiredly.

"The vendor's son. Weren't you listening to anything I just said? Jaylah replied.

"Look Jaylah," Collins said. "You stay here okay? I'm going outside for a minute. I'll be back." He took his cigarettes out of his pocket and went out the back for a smoke.

Roger, Mark, Maureen, and Joanne arrived at the Adam Anthony State Adoption Agency only five minutes late. They went up to the receptionist and gave her the names and were told to go on into the office. Inside their caseworker Ms. Wilson was waiting.

"Ah, Mr. and Mr. Davis." she said as they came in. "It's good to see you again. And who are your guests?"

"This is Joanne Jefferson our lawyer and her secretary Maureen Johnson." Mark said quickly.

"Okay." said Ms. Wilson. "All the paper work seems to be in order. All that's left is to discuss your living situation and have you meet the child. Now gentlemen, I want you to know that we are all for giving children to people with your uh- unique marital status, but only if we can be sure that they will have a good home."

"Of course." Mark said. "Roger and I live in a brownstone house on Long Island. It's a wonderful neighborhood and there's a great school less than five miles away."

"That sounds good." Ms. Wilson said nodding. "What about income? I assume you both have jobs."

"Well," Roger said speaking up. "Mark is the owner of the television show Buzzline and I am-,"

"Oh I know who you are and what you do Mr. Davis." Ms. Wilson said smiling. "You're quite the star."

"Actually," Roger said. "I'm not anymore, but due to the payment options I worked to with my agent, I still get checks periodically and money whenever someone uses one of my songs. So I guess you could call that a steady source of income."

Ms. Wilson nodded again. "Well all that seems to be in order. I have to file this paper work for board approval, but it looks good. If the board approves your application, you should be proud parents in about a week. Would you like to meet with the child now?"

Roger and Mark looked at each other and smiled. "Yes, we would." they replied simultaneously.

Sara walked quickly down the street and up to the Pascal Theater. She was running late for her dance rehearsal and she didn't know who was going to be running it today. As she came into the dance room she heard a familiar voice calling out "And one, two, three, four, kick, back, three, four."

So Mimi was running it today. Sara thought with a grin. She ran over to her friend and Mimi signaled everyone to take a break.

"You're late Sara." she said with mock sternness.

"I know Meems. But Maureen was yakking my ear off about how Mark and Roger are going to be parents in like a week.'

"A week!" Mimi exclaimed. "That's crazy."

"Apparently they passed the application process. All they're waiting for is board approval and the kid is theirs." Sara explained as she shed her outer wear to reveal her leotard.

"Wow, that's incredible." Mimi said. "I might have to take the ferry out to their house today and congratulate them." Then she motioned for Sara to get into position and started the rehearsal again.

Author's Note: I know nothing about the adoption process so I'm not sure if this is how it goes. But it's the best I can do. Oh and I know I've been leaning on the actors real names lately. (The Pascal Theater, Rapp-Heredia Records, Adam Anthony State Adoption Agency.) It's because my brain is stretched in so many different ways these days. I have a fifteen page research paper due in 5 days. Anyone know anything about Carl Sandburg?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mark and Roger left Maureen and Joanne in the office and followed Ms. Wilson out. As they walked down the hallway, children rushed by, laughing and shouting. Roger dropped back to speak with Mark.

"Are you sure we're ready for this Mark?" he asked quietly.

"I think we are sweetie." Mark responded. "I love kids, and you are one, so we should be fine."

Roger stuck his tongue out at his lover, "You are such a chick." he said softly.

"And it turns you on." Mark said back.

Roger opened his mouth to say that wasn't all that turned him on, when Ms. Wilson announced that they had arrived. She opened the door to a small room and they saw the child.

She was a girl with strawberry blond hair, looking to be about eleven or twelve. She was laying across the bed reading a book. Her room was small and pretty empty, but Roger spied a guitar in the corner.

"Ana" Ms. Wilson said. "You are supposed to be practicing the violin."

The girl looked up from her book. "I hate the violin." she said simply. "Ever since Bobby left and gave me his guitar, I've found I love it much more than the stupid violin."

"Oh Ana." Ms. Wilson said sighing. The girl looked up at the two men standing with her. She turned her stormy grey eyes on them.

"Hello." she said. "Are you the ones who are going to be my new dads?"

Mark smiled. "Uh yeah, we hope so. I'm Mark and this is Roger."

The girl smiled. "I'm Anastasia." she said. "Anastasia Avia and I don't have a last name."

"Well," Roger said speaking up, "If you come with us it will be Cohen-Davis. Or just Davis if Mark gets his way."

"And I intend to." Mark said grinning.

"Anastasia Avia Davis." Ana said slowly. "I can live with that." Ms. Wilson smiled and left the boys alone with their future daughter.

"So," Mark said. "What book are you reading?"

Ana held it up. "The sixth Harry Potter," she said. "It's always better the second time."

"Really?" Mark said happily, for he too had a weird fixation with Harry Potter. "Don't you just hate it when Dumbledore dies? It's like we all knew Snape was evil, but dang that was harsh."

"I know!" Ana said excitedly. "I was shocked. Without Dumbledore Harry is toast though. There's no way he can beat Voldemort by himself."

"I don't know about that." Mark said. "He's gotten pretty good over the years."

"Yeah, but every time something goes down he's always knocked out or poisoned or petrified. Then Dumbledore swoops in and saves him."

"But what about in the second one when he fought the basilisk?" Mark argued back. "Dumbledore wasn't there then."

"Who sent him Fawkes and the sword?" Ana asked. "Before they came he was just running around like a scared puppy."

Roger was listening to the argument with wide eyes. "You read Harry Potter?" he asked his partner in disbelief.

"Um yes." Mark mumbled back. "There's nothing wrong with Harry Potter."

Roger held his head in his hands. "I can't believe I'm in love with a thirty-five year old filmmaker who loves Harry Potter books."

"Hey!" Ana said indignantly. "I like Harry Potter too."

"Yes, but you're like eleven, and you play the guitar so it balances out."

"Actually I'm twelve." Ana said back. "And I'm not a very good guitar player."

"What a coincidence." Mark said grinning. "Neither is Roger." Roger glared at Mark who blew him a kiss, and then picked up Ana's guitar.

He strummed it and found it was tuned correctly. "What can you play?" Roger wanted to know.

"Not much." Ana said. "A few simple cords and this one song I hear on the radio all the time."

"Can I hear it?" Roger asked her.

She shrugged, took the guitar from him, and began to play. It was soft and timid at first, as she tried to find the correct notes. But once she had them she played louder, singing along as she played.

_On that night, I promised you forever;_

_On that night, I gave you the moon;_

_And on that night, I said I'd leave you never;_

_But on this night, I say goodbye to you._

Ana looked up, surprised to find Roger smiling with tears in his eyes and Mark rubbing his back.

"What?" she asked. "Jeez, I said I wasn't that great."

"No" Mark said. "It's not that, it's just-"

"I wrote that song Ana." Roger said softly. "When you hear it on the radio, it's me singing it."

Ana's eyes widened. "So you're _that _Roger Davis?"

Roger nodded.

"Oh my God!" Ana shrieked. "One of my new Dads is _The_ Roger Davis. I've loved that song for years. I would never have guessed I would meet the artist responsible for it. Let alone that he'd be my new parent."

Roger grinned at her. "I wrote that years ago, when I first left New York. It was for Mimi, who was my girlfriend at the time. I had promised her that I'd never leave and then I did end up saying goodbye. I ran into her for the first time in ten years, last year. She's engaged now, but we're still close."

"She's engaged and you have Mark." Ana said. "Seems like you both found happiness."

Roger looked over at the love of his life who was blushing furiously. "Yeah," he said  
"I can't picture myself without him. He's my heart and soul."

"And your brain." Mark interjected. "Okay we need to go before the moment gets to sappy. We still have to meet the renovators at five and Joanne and Maureen have to go back to work."

"Okay see you later Roger. Oh and Mark, we haven't finished our discussion yet. I'm still right and I can prove it." Ana said as she walked them to the door.

Mark laughed. "We'll see about that Ana."

They left the room and started back down the hall towards the office to collect their female companions.

"So" Mark said to Roger. "Think we can handle this?"

"I love that girl Mark." Roger said back. "This is going to be great."

Ms. Wilson came out of her office smiling. "Oh I was just coming to get you two. The head of the board just looked at your application. You are now the proud parents of Anastasia Avia Cohen-Davis."

The lovers smiled at each other.

"Actually" Roger said, "It's just Davis. Mark's orders."

Ms. Wilson laughed. "Whatever you want. You can come collect Anastasia in two days. Congratulations."

Author's Note: Okay so now they have met and secured the child. I know her name is wild, but I love it. I decided they should have a daughter to bring out the softer side of Roger. And the whole Harry Potter thing was actually an from an actual argument I was having with my friend Hayden as I was writing this. I thought it would be a nice touch to make Mark a Harry Potter fan. But do you guys think the whole song moment was too sappy? It just came to me and was not in my original plan for this chapter. Oh and the song Ana sings was written by Hayden Bryson who is as big a RENThead as I am. He graciously agreed to lend the song to Roger for the sake of this story. I'll try to update soon. Only 7 days of school left!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Later that day, after Mimi finished rehearsal, she and Sara went to the harbor and boarded a ferry to Long Island. About an hour later, they were standing in front of Mark and Roger's brownstone house. Sara bounced up to the door and knocked. The door was opened by Roger, who was dressed in ripped up jeans and no shirt.

"Hey Sara, hey Mimi" he greeted them. "Come on in."

"Did we interrupt something?" Mimi asked.

"No, why?"

"Well you just look so undressed." She replied eyeing him. Roger laughed at the insinuation.

"Mark and I were moving furniture into Anastasia's new room. We weren't doing what you think we were." The he caught Sara staring at his toned body. "How you doing Sara?" he asked.

"Huh?" was her response. As she continued to stare, Mark came up behind her.

"Uh Sara?" he said. "You are aware that those rippling muscles and toned abs belong to me right?"

"Of course!" Sara said coming back to the present. "I was just um, yeah." she finished lamely. They all laughed and followed Mark back into the rest of the house.

"Wait." Mimi said, remembering something from earlier. "Who's Anastasia?"

Mark and Roger grinned at each other. "Our new daughter" they said in unison.

"Your what!" the girls exclaimed.

"We passed the application process today and we are going to pick her up in two days." Mark explained.

"Congratulations you guys." Mimi said. "That's so cool, you two are going to be Mommies."

"Ha ha" Roger said dryly.

"So what's she like?" Sara asked.

"Well she's twelve and she's so cute. And she's smart too." Mark answered.

"And she plays the guitar." Roger interjected.

"Well it's good that you are getting a child you both can relate to. I can't wait to meet her." Mimi said smiling.

"We're thinking about bringing her to the Life on Saturday to meet all you bums and Jaylah." Roger said as he walked into the next room with Sara following him.

"So how's the elusive Darren?" Mark asked Mimi. "When do we get to meet him anyway?"

She sighed and lowered her eyes. "Darren isn't someone you want to meet Mark. He's complicated."

Mark nodded grimly. "In other words _he_ doesn't want to meet _us_ right?"

"Well, it's kind of just Roger he doesn't want to meet, and you by association." Mimi said sadly.

"It's because Roger and I are together isn't it?" Mark wanted to know.

Mimi sighed. "Yeah, that's right. He is so stupid sometimes. How can a dancer be homophobic? I mean most men dancers are gay, but he just can't get past the fact that Roger left me when I was sick and the fact that he is with a man only adds fuel to the fire." she said.

"And you're marrying him why?" Mark asked. Mimi sighed again.

"Mark I'm almost thirty. The man I thought I would spend my life with loves you. Darren does love me and I love him, even if he is a pretentious prick sometimes. But what else can I do? I want a family before I leave this world."

Mark shrugged. "It's your life Meems. But it just seems to me that you shouldn't settle for just anyone. Sometimes love is just worth the wait."

Mimi looked down. "Only if you have the time to wait for it." she whispered.

Mark walked over to her, concerned. "Mimi are you okay?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

She smiled up at him. "Are you kidding? I'm great. Never felt better. Just a little depressed is all, but I'll be fine." Mark looked at her skeptically. "Really Mark, I'm fine. Now let's go help Roger decorate Anastasia's room before he messes it up. For a gay guy he has no fashion sense." She started down the hallway.

Mark watched as Mimi walked away and felt a growing sense of worry, but when she turned around and smiled at him he put it out of his head and hurried to follow her. It was her business after all.

The two days were passed in a flurry of shopping and decorating and moving. All of their friends made some kind of effort to help Mark and Roger get ready for the arrival of their daughter. Before they knew it, it was time to go pick Anastasia up.

At seven a.m. Roger was up and getting ready when the doorbell rang. He went to answer it quickly so not to wake up Mark, who had worked until late that past night. Roger opened the door and saw a bright eyed Maureen standing there.

"Whoa, Roger you're up before noon. You must be excited." she greeted cheerfully.

"Hi Maureen, what exactly are you doing here?" Roger asked confused.

"Well," Maureen responded, "I know that when Jo and I adopted Jaylah I was really nervous, even though Jo was there with me. So I thought you might need a little friendly company when you go pick up Ana today. Now are you going to let me in or am I going to have to stand here till Mark gets up?"

Roger grinned at his friend and moved aside to let her in. "Thanks for the company Mo. I really am nervous. That's why I'm up so early."

"I thought so. What time are we leaving, and haven't I told you to stop calling me Mo?"

"Around eleven." Roger answered ignoring the last part of her question.

"Great." Maureen said smiling. "You go get that man of yours up and I'll cook you guys some breakfast."

Roger looked at her warily. "Um, since when can you cook?" he asked.

"Since four years ago when I became a mother silly." She walked to the refrigerator and opened it. Much to her surprise it was stocked with food. "Since when do you and Mark shop?" she called after Roger.

"Since Mark got a job, I got a record deal, and we found out we were getting a kid. Can't live like Bohemians forever." he called back. Maureen laughed and got to work.

Roger walked into his and Mark's room and sat down on the bed where Mark was sleeping peacefully. Roger felt his heart swell with love for that skinny blond man as he watched him sleep. Reluctantly he put his hand on Mark's shoulder and shook him.

"Marky, you need to get up." he said softly. When he received no answer he sighed and tried again. "Mark Davis get up this instant!"

That did the trick and Mark sat up in the bed. "Oh my God," he said sleepily. "you sounded like my mother just then."

Roger grinned at him. "Sorry, but you need to get up. It's after seven."

Mark groaned. "I thought I told you to wake me at six." he said.

Roger wrapped his arm around his love. "True but I wasn't even up until six-thirty and you were sleeping so peacefully I couldn't bare to wake you up. You need your sleep Mark."

"What would I do without you?" Mark asked planting a kiss on Roger's lips.

"You'd probably walk around kissing people with morning breath. God go brush your teeth already." Roger said laughing.

Mark stuck his tongue out at him and then said, "Who's that banging around in the kitchen?"

"Maureen." Roger answered. "She's making breakfast."

"God help us." Mark said back and made his way to the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

-1Chapter 5

Mark got out of the shower a half hour later and smelled something wonderful. He came into the bedroom where Roger was sitting on the bed reading one of Mark's Harry Potter books.

"Rog honey, what are you doing?" Mark asked.

"Trying to see what the appeal of this book is to a grown man." Roger replied. "I don't get it."

Mark laughed. "You don't have to get it Roger. Just respect the fact that I do. And that your new daughter does. It can be our thing, just like you two can have the guitar thing."

"I guess that makes sense." Roger agreed. "Let's go see what Mo is fixing for breakfast. Cause it smells really good."

The two men made their way into the kitchen where Maureen had a wonderful breakfast laid out on the counters.

"Wow Maureen, you really outdid yourself." Mark said as he came in and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you Marky. I tried. We've got waffles, eggs, sausage, grits, and orange juice. So dig in boys."

And dig in they did, the boys sat down and started to eat ravenously.

"You go Maureen" Roger said with his mouth full. "This is really good. "

"Thank you Rog." she said back blushing.

Mark heaved a sigh. "Why is it that all girls blush and giggle whenever my Roger says something?" he wanted to know.

Maureen giggled and reached out to ruffle Roger's hair. "It's because he's so damn pretty. All girls are attracted to such a pretty boy. God, I'm a lesbian and I know that."

Mark sighed again. "Oh come on Marky. You're committed to Roger Davis. Tragic, ex-junkie, sex symbol. You just have to look past it." Maureen told him.

"Shut up Mo." Roger ordered quickly. "Mark don't listen to her. I love you, and only you baby. All those girls who worship me for whatever reason, aren't you. And if I'm a sex symbol, I want it to be only for you."

Mark grinned at him. "Thank you darling." he said

The rest of the morning went past quickly. At eleven they got into Mark's car and drove to the adoption agency. They had no sooner walked through the door when a strawberry blond blur ran up shrieking "Mark, Roger, you're here!"

They all laughed at her enthusiasm. Then Roger leaned down.

"So you all ready to go then Ana?" he asked.

"Yes." she said. "I've only been waiting since forever."

Mark laughed again and said "Guess what?"

"What?" Ana asked

"I just got the fourth Harry Potter on DVD." he told her.

"Cool." was Ana's response. Then she turned to Maureen. "Are you Mimi?" she asked.

"No I'm Maureen." Maureen said. "You'll meet Mimi later. Why did you think I was her?"

"Well" Ana said. "I know Roger used to date Mimi and you look like the type of girl Roger would date."

Roger looked at Maureen in horror. "No way in heck. Not even if I did like girls still." he said.

"Ha ha I can hardly contain my laughter." Maureen said back.

"Mark why don't you and Mo take Ana and get her stuff and I'll go sign the custody papers." Roger suggested.

"Alright." They agreed. Ana led them down the hall and to her room. The already small space looked smaller with all of her stuff packed up. It was all in two boxes, except for her guitar which was laying on the bed. Mark set about checking to see if Ana had gotten every thing while she asked Maureen questions.

"So do you have any kids Miss Maureen?"

"Oh God. You make me sound so old. Just call me Maureen or Re-Re like everyone else. But yeah I have a daughter named Jaylah. She's fourteen and she just made a new friend Collins said. Some kid named Arty. You'll meet them both on Saturday."

"Who's Collins?"

"One of Mark, Roger, and my best friends. We've known him forever. He's a teacher and he lives in Boston like me and my wife Joanne." Maureen explained.

"Oh so you're gay too." Ana said politely.

"Not really, technically I'm bi sexual. I still like men. In fact I used to date Mark years ago."

"Maureen" Mark called from over in the corner. "Please don't corrupt Anastasia's mind with your crazy tales of what happened back in Bohemia."

"But Mark if she's going to be yours and Roger's child she has to know. I mean Jo and I told Jaylah all about it a long time ago. You can't expect to take her to the Life if she doesn't know. It goes with the territory." Maureen said.

"I know but-"

"No buts Mark." Then Maureen proceeded to tell Anastasia all about how they used to not be able to pay rent and about her protests and Mark's films and the fun times they had at the Life Café living "La Vie Boheme". The only thing she didn't mention was Roger and his past drug addiction and his AIDS, that was his story to tell. By the time she was done Anastasia couldn't wait to go live with her new dads and become a bohemian. And she was in luck. Roger came into the room a minute later and looked around.

"So we ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep," Ana said. "Mark's just putting the last box in the car. He said he'd wait for us down there because he wasn't walking up the stairs again."

"That's my Mark." Roger said laughing. Then he bent down. "Come on Miss Anastasia. I'll give you a ride down." he said and Ana laughed and jumped onto his back.

"Aww Roger you're going to make a great dad." Maureen told him. "Right Ana?"

"I think so." Ana agreed.

They went down the stairs and met Mark by the car. They all got in and started to drive away from the agency.

Ana looked out of the window and said "So long suckers."

"Anastasia" Mark admonished as he drove. "That wasn't very nice."

"Sorry." she said sounding anything but.

"Well," Roger said "you can see who your mother figure will be already." he looked over at Mark. "I told you that you were a chick." he said to him.

"And I told you-" Mark began.

"Uh, not in front of Ana please." Roger said.

In the back seat Maureen turned to Anastasia. "They are going to be doing that a lot. So you may as well get used to it. They started off as best friends before they got involved so they argue a lot." she said.

Ana laughed. "I think we'll be okay though. One little happy family."

Maureen grinned at that. "It won't be little once you meet the rest of our family. It gets much, much bigger."


	6. Chapter 6

-1Chapter 6

The drive back to Long Island was quite enjoyable. Mostly because of Ana's wonderment of the ferry and things outside of the city. It was all so new to her. Then they got to the house and she was the first one out of the car.

"Wow." she said breathlessly. "This place is great. Looks much better than the loft sounded."

"How do you know about the loft?" Roger asked.

"Maureen told her." Mark answered. Roger looked at Mark with a worried expression. Mark signaled with his eyes that she had left out all of what they now called the "April Years". Roger sighed with relief and went to unlock the door. Ana ran inside.

"So." Roger said "Let's do the whole tour thing. Then we'll get your stuff and help you unpack. Then we'll grab some dinner. How does that sound?"

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Ana said.

"Aw, look at my Roger being all organized." Mark said grinning and wrapping an arm around Roger's waist.

"I have to go you guys." Maureen said quickly. "I need to go relieve Jo of Jaylah duty and do some mother like things. Plus you two are getting way too cute for my taste. So I'll see you all at the Life tomorrow. Bye Ana."

When she was out the door Roger turned to Anastasia. "Maureen is a very scary force Ana." he said. "She is one of the most loyal people you will ever meet, but if you get on her bad side. Let's just say don't do it."

Ana grinned. "I like her. She's so cool and liberal. But don't worry, I like you guys too. I like how you are always touching each other. It's cute." she told them.

Roger and Mark grinned at each other. "We're cute." Roger said. Mark kept his arm around Roger as they showed Ana the kitchen, the living room, the bathrooms, their bedroom, her bedroom, and finally what Roger called the idea room. It was really just a small room off of the living room that had huge windows and comfortable chairs.

"Why is it called the idea room?" Ana wanted to know.

"Because," Roger explained. "sometimes I like to sit in here with my guitar and write songs, and Mark likes to come in here and think up ideas for Buzzline episodes and his own films. It was in this very room that I decided to ask Mark to marry me and we also made the decision to adopt you while we were in this room."

"Plus he couldn't think of anything better to call it." Mark put in.

"Oh shut up." Roger said and kissed Mark lightly on the lips.

"See?" Ana said smiling. "So cute."

"Why don't you go unpack and we'll see what we can fix for dinner?" Roger suggested. "Any preferences?"

"Anything that's food." Ana said skipping off to her room.

"Ah, a child after my own heart." Roger said proudly.

The day was passed with jokes, unpacking, and getting to know each other. In other words they were clicking as a family. Anastasia felt her heart swelling with hope. The way Mark and Roger loved each other made her think that this new family would stay together for a while, unlike her old one. For the hundredth time that day, she thanked God for those two lovable guys who had adopted her.

Later that night Mark and Roger were tucking Anastasia in to bed. Mark said his good nights and then went to make some business calls. Roger stayed longer.

"Sing to me?" Ana asked.

Roger walked out and got his guitar. He came back in and sat on the bed and started playing and singing.

_Your eyes_

_As we said our goodbyes_

_Can't get them out of my mind_

_And I find I can't hide_

Then he stopped. It was still a little painful to sing that song. Ana sensed that something was wrong with him.

"Was that for Mimi?" she asked.

"It was." Roger confirmed.

"Why'd you leave her?"

Roger looked at her and sighed. Then he began to tell the story.

_Eleven years earlier…_

_Roger was walking back into the loft after having come back from a Life Support meeting. He was very angry because Mimi hadn't shown up. When he walked in the phone was ringing. **That better be her**, he was thinking._

_He snatched up the phone. "Hello?" he said._

_"Yes, is this Roger Davis?" a female voice said._

_"Yeah it is. Can I help you?"_

_"Mr. Davis my name is Lanna Harbin and I'm a talent agent for Columbus Records. I would like to offer you a contract. I've heard a lot of your music and I think it's just great. So what do you say?"_

_"First," Roger said. "Call me Roger. Mr. Davis makes me feel old. Second, are you serious?"_

_"Yes Roger, I am. We are prepared to offer you a starting pay at $50,000 a year plus 80 of whatever you make from your record sales. How does that sound?"_

_Roger was sold then and he told her that he would contact his lawyer and get back to her. Of course that just meant he was going to call Joanne. She did a little research and found out that the record label was legit and that the pay amount was more than fair. So Roger called Lanna back and accepted, just like that._

_Hours later Mimi came back. "Roger I know you're mad I didn't go to Life Support today. But just hear me out." she said quickly as she came in the door._

_"No, hear me out first." Roger said. Mimi braced herself for the yelling. "I got a record deal today!" he said excitedly._

_"Oh Roger baby that's great." Mimi said. "We should go down to the Life and celebrate."_

_Roger told her that he was tired and that he needed to sleep. "I have to finalize everything with her tomorrow and I don't need to be drunk when I talk to her. We can celebrate after that." he told her. Mimi agreed that that was best and went into the kitchen while Roger went to bed._

_The next morning Lanna called and announced that in order to male the deal Roger had to move to L.A. That changed things. The opportunity was great, but he didn't really want to leave. But every one told him to go. Then he asked Mimi. He told himself that if she said he should go and that she didn't need him to take care of her than he would go._

_"You should go Roger." she'd said. "I'll be fine. Mark will take care of me, you go pursue your dreams."_

_And so he left._

Roger looked up after telling his story to Ana. There were tears in his green eyes.

"So that's what happened." he said.

Ana was silent for a while. Then she said, "You only did what you thought was right. And what everyone told you was right. And look you and Mimi both got something out of it in the end."

"You're right Ana my dear." Roger said. "Why is it I always get the best advice from kids?"

"What do you mean?" Ana asked.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, sleep now. Goodnight." he said kissing her forehead. Then he pulled back. "Was that too forward?" he wanted to know. "It just seemed like the fatherly thing to do at the time."

"I'm glad you did it. I need a father." she replied.

"Goodnight Ana-daughter." Roger said.

"Goodnight Roger-dad."

Author's Note: And goodnight to you guys too. (Even though it will be day time when I get this up.) I just finished my research paper and I'm beat. So it's off to bed I go. I just wanted to get this chapter out first. It was a burst of inspiration and my subconscious has a habit of not letting me sleep until I get those bursts on paper or typed up. Hope you liked it. Let me know.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. School is out and I don't have the internet a t home. So it took me a while to make it to the library. This is going to be a long chapter. Thank you all so much for supporting this story and RENT: The Real Story As Seen By A Non-Believer. It means a lot to me.

Chapter 7

Early that next morning, Roger and Mark were lying in their bed talking about the adoption and how they were going to go about introducing Ana to their friends.

"Well she's already met Maureen, so everyone else should be easy to introduce. Mo's the craziest one we know." Roger said.

"That's true," Mark agreed. "What time are we all meeting tonight?"

"Mimi said everyone would be there around six. So we probably should leave around four thirty. Do you know if Mimi is bringing Darren?" Roger said.

"She probably won't" Mark said sadly.

"It's just kind of weird that we haven't met him in the year and a half they've been engaged." Roger reasoned. "I mean Mo, Sara, and Joanne have met him. Why not us?"

"Think about it Roger. He probably doesn't like you very much because of the whole you leaving Mimi thing. And the fact that we are together can't be helping him like us any better." Mark said.

Before Roger could reply to that they heard a strumming of chords from Anastasia's room. She was playing the song that she played for them when they had first met her. Roger found himself smiling.

"Having that girl is the third most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me." he said.

"What are the first two?" Mark wanted to know.

"Well meeting Mimi was the second best. She's the one who helped me come out of my depressed funk."

"Oh and I suppose she did it by herself did she?" Mark said jealously.

"I was getting to you sweetie." Roger assured him with a smile. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Without you I would probably be dead by now. I love you so much Mark."

"And I love you too. Even if you are a crazy self absorbed musician." Mark said laughing.

"Well you're a greedy filmmaker who has to have every thing his way or else." Roger retorted.

Mark responded to that taunt by giving Roger a deep kiss. Roger smiled and kissed his love back. They were disrupted by a knock on their door.

"Yeah?" Roger called.

"Good morning guys!" Ana called back brightly. "You want me to fix you some breakfast? Pancakes are my specialty."

"That sounds great." Mark called as Roger nibbled on his ear. "We'll be down in a minute."

"Or thirty." Roger whispered in his ear and continued to nibble.

"Rog," Mark groaned. "You know we can't do it as much as we used to because there is now a child in our house." his protests were growing weaker and weaker as Roger started kissing his neck.

"I know we can't have as much fun as we used to, but that doesn't mean I can't make you crazy a bit before breakfast." Roger responded with a evil grin.

"You," Mark said biting back a moan, "are the anti-Christ."

"And that makes you love me more." Roger said climbing out of the bed, and heading for the shower.

"You're right, it does." Mark concurred, going to join him.

They made it into the kitchen about twenty minutes later and saw that Ana had fixed them a wonderful breakfast.

"Wow an accomplished musician and a cook, I'm impressed." Mark said coming to hug Ana, who blushed at the praise.

"So" Roger said grabbing a plate. "Today is very special day. It's the second Saturday of the month and that means it's time to go to the Life Café. Maureen told you about the Life didn't she?"

Ana nodded as she chewed a piece of pancake.

"Well every second Saturday me, Mark, Maureen, Mimi, her friend Sara, Collins, Joanne and her daughter meet at the Life to catch up. So today you will get to meet all of your new Bohemian family." Roger explained.

"Sounds like fun." Anastasia said. "Are we going to dance on the tables like you guys used to?" she wanted to know.

"Uh, if Maureen and Roger have too much to drink, we just might." Mark answered. Roger lightly punched Mark on the arm. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Why don't you get that Ana?" Roger suggested. "You are officially a resident of this house and all."

Ana ran to the door and opened it. There was a black man standing there with two kids at his side.

"Do Mark and Roger still live here or have they skipped town again?" the man asked good naturedly.

"They're still here." Ana said shyly. "I'm Anastasia Avia Davis, their new daughter."

"Oh wow." Collins said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Collins."

"Oh yeah. Maureen told me about you. Come in." She moved aside so that they could enter. One of the kids turned to Ana and held out her hand.

"Hello." she said. "My name is Jaylah Gabrielle Johnson-Jefferson. Maureen is one of my mothers."

"I heard about you too." Ana said shaking her hand. She turned to the other kid. A young man with red hair. "You must be Jaylah's new friend Arty." she said.

"That's right." Arty said somewhat shyly.

"Mark, Roger. Collins is here." Ana called loudly. The boys came around the corner to greet their friend.

"What's up man?" Roger said giving him a hug. "Hey Jay. And who is this?"

"This is my new friend Arty. He is the ice-cream vendor's son and we have a argument going."

"About what?" Ana asked.

"About whether Roger's recent music is better than the music from the Well Hungarians." Jaylah responded.

"And what is your opinion Arty?" Roger wanted to know.

"I think the Well Hungarians were better." Arty said. "My parents have some of your old tapes from back then. I love them."

"Well thank you. I personally thought we sucked back then." Roger said with a smile.

"You did baby." Mark put in with a grin.

"Okay you two, that's enough. There are children present. Maybe you can act like adults for a while." Collins scolded with a smile. "Besides I want to hear all about Lady Anastasia here."

Ana blushed. "Well," she said. "I'm twelve years old, I like to read and write and play the guitar. I also can cook a bit and I like to dance even though I'm not very good at it. I've never been to a real school. We always had tutors at Adam Anthony, so I don't have very many friends. Above all I'm just happy to be here."

Collins laughed at the young girl's formality. "Lady just be cool. We are all very laid back in this Bohemian family. You don't have to try to impress anyone. Just be yourself."

Ana nodded her understanding, glad that all of Mark and Roger's friends seemed to be so nice. Then there was another knock on the door.

"Jeez, what is this, a house party?" Roger complained as he went to open the door. Standing outside was Sara.

"Hey Rog." She greeted. "I know we are supposed to be meeting at six at the Life, but I'm here because Mimi sent me. Can you, me and Mark talk in private?"

"Sure Sara. Come on in. Collins is here with Jaylah and her friend. Oh and now you can meet our Ana." Roger said.

When they came into the living room where everyone else was Roger went over to Ana and said: "There's another friend we want you to meet. This is Sara, she is a new addition to our family, but she's welcome all the same. Sara, this is Anastasia."

"Nice to meet you Ana." Sara said. "I'm sure we will get along just fine." Then she turned to Collins "What's up Collins?" she greeted him.

"Nothing, I'm cool. What's up with you Sara, why are you here so early?" Collins said back.

"I just need to talk to Mark and Roger and then I'm headed back to the city. Mimi and I have a dance class at three and then we'll be heading to the Life." she responded.

Mark and Roger got up and led Sara to the idea room so they could talk.

"What's going on Sara?" Mark inquired when they had gone in and shut the door.

"Oh my God. So much is happening like you wouldn't believe." Sara said. "First of all Mimi thinks she might be pregnant."

"What!" Roger exclaimed. "But she's not even married yet. And what about her HIV? She can't bring a child into the world with that."

"I know, I know." Sara said. "But there's more. She twisted her ankle two weeks ago right? So we went to the doctor one day while Darren was at work. He was just supposed to check her ankle, but when he heard that Mimi was HIV positive he checked her white blood cell count. It's low you guys. Way low." Mark and Roger were speechless. So Sara continued. "She made me promise that I wouldn't tell Darren, but I thought I could tell you. Anyway, Darren knows that she might be pregnant so he's not letting her out of his sight."

"What do you mean she might be pregnant? Hasn't she gone in for the tests? Can't they find out for sure?" Mark asked worriedly.

Sara sighed. "I tried to get her to go back to the doctor but she won't. All she keeps saying is that that's what killed Angel. That Angel had to keep going back to the doctor and finally she got sick of it and died."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Mark exclaimed. "If Angel hadn't gone to the doctor she would have died sooner. Mimi's just making excuses."

Roger was still silent. He secretly agreed with Mimi about not wanting to go to the doctor. But that didn't mean it made sense.

"Since Darren won't let Mimi out of his sight that means he's going to be at the Life tonight. That's the real reason Mimi sent me here. To warn you about that." Sara was saying.

"Oh." Mark said, knowing exactly what Sara was talking about. Roger on the other hand had no idea what she meant.

"Why are we being warned about Darren?" He wanted to know.

"Because Roger." Sara explained gently. "Darren really doesn't like you. The fact that you're um, well." she couldn't finish.

"Married to a man?" Roger finished for her. "he hates me because of that? He's never even met me."

"Well there's also the fact that he thinks you sold out and left Mimi in her time of need to go make music that he says no one even likes." Sara continued.

Roger just stood there gaping at her.

"So that's all I wanted to say. I guess I should get going now. See you guys in a few hours." with that Sara left.

Mark looked over at Roger who was still speechless. "Roger, sweetie?" he tried but Roger shook his head and opened the door, strode to the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mark sighed as Roger slammed the door. Ana came skipping up to him.

"Can I go with Collins and Jaylah and Arty?" she wanted to know.

"Where are they going?"

"Back to Collins' hotel room to play video games and get some pizza and then on to the Life Café." she told him.

"Yeah go ahead. Just be careful and make sure you stay with Collins at all times. New York is a dangerous place but he knows it well." Mark advised. Ana gave him a hug.

"Should I go tell Roger I'm leaving?" she asked.

"I'll tell him. You just go have fun." Ana nodded and ran back into the living room to tell Collins it was okay. "Bye you guys." he called as they left. He was worried about Ana going out without him or Roger, but he was glad he had some time alone with Roger.

He walked over to the bedroom door and opened it slowly. His love was sitting on the bed holding his guitar but not playing it, and staring blankly at the bedspread.

Mark came over to the bed and sat down. Roger put his guitar down and laid his head in Mark's lap. They sat there quietly for a while, not saying anything. Mark absently stroked Roger's blond curls.

Finally Roger broke the silence. "I've only ever had one person hate me before Mark." he said sadly. "That was April's mom. She hated me for a long time after April died. I guess she thought it was my fault. I guess this whole Mimi thing is my fault."

"No." Mark whispered fiercely. "It's not your fault. You haven't been responsible for Mimi in over ten years. If anybody is to blame it's Darren. He's the one who has been with her all this time. And maybe Mimi's a little to blame herself. Probably more than a little."

Roger sighed. "You're right, but I just can't shake the feeling that I'm responsible for this some how. I don't understand it."

"Well I do." Mark said bitterly. "When you left Mimi stopped caring. I tried to help her but she wouldn't let me. And that wasn't your fault. It was hers. She told you to leave because she'd be okay, but she didn't even really try to be."

"What do you mean?" Roger wanted to know. Mark took a deep breath.

_Ten years earlier…_

_Mark and Mimi were walking down the street about seven months after Roger had left for L.A. They had just come from a Life Support meeting. _

_"Don't you need to pick up your AZT soon?" Mark asked her._

_Mimi shook her head and kept walking._

_"But you haven't gotten a refill in about three months." Mark protested. "You must need to get some more."_

_"I'm fine Mark." Mimi said in her warning voice. "In fact I'm better than fine. Last week when I was at the Club, a professional dancer named Darren Mathews asked me to come and audition for a place at the Pascal Theater. He said they were looking for young dancers with spirits like mine."_

_"That's great Meems. But isn't the Pascal Theater like way uptown?" Mark said._

_"It's actually on the upper west side. And if I get the job they will pay to put me up in an apartment over there. Then when I save enough I can get my own house."_

_"It's seems like a lot to think about." Mark said shrugging._

_"It really isn't." Mimi told him. "In fact I auditioned and made it. So I will be leaving in a month." She walked off and left Mark staring after her._

_The month flew by and before he knew it, Mimi was leaving. All of their friends, except for Roger of course, gathered to see her off. After many tears and promises to call and keep in touch, Mimi was gone, leaving behind her a lonely Mark and a half empty bottle of AZT dated six months earlier._

"So she just stopped taking it?" Roger asked incredulously. "But how can she still be alive?"

"Oh she takes it now." Mark assured him. "Or at least I think she is. All I know is that Darren tries to stay on top of it. That's what she told me."

Roger was shaking his head. "What's wrong with her? She's getting married to an idiot and she seems to have a death wish and a baby on the way!" he sighed sadly.

Mark pushed Roger off of his lap. He looked at him startled.

"Don't." Mark said forcefully. "Don't start feeling sorry for her and blaming yourself. Mimi isn't April Roger. You aren't responsible for her and her well being. You are neither her boyfriend nor her fiancé. This is Darren's problem now. And of course Mimi's. She knows what she's doing. If she didn't she wouldn't still be alive. It has nothing to do with you. "

Roger stared into Mark's blue eyes. Mark looked back into Roger's green ones without blinking. Then Roger fell forward onto Mark, pinning him to the bed.

"You are the most wonderful person on the face of this planet Mark. All you think about is others, never wondering how you might be affected. I love that about you. You always feel the need to make sure I'm okay. What would I do without you?"

"You'd probably hang yourself." Mark muttered under his breath. Then Roger's lips were on his, and they were kissing. A deep, passionate, soul-touching kiss that only true lovers can share. Then it wasn't enough that their mouths were touching. They needed more contact than that. Soon they were shedding their clothes and kissing each other practically everywhere. It wasn't frantic messy love making. It was something beautiful they both shared and treasured. They took the necessary precautions and joined themselves together.

Nearly an hour later they finally collapsed against each other, sweating and panting. Mark felt himself drifting off to sleep.

He smiled at Roger. "Wake me up at three thirty." he said. "And don't forget to take your AZT before we leave."

Roger looked at his best friend, his lover, his life. "I doubt I'll ever forget again." he said softly. "I love you." he said softly.

"I know." Mark said back, then he was asleep.

Author's Note: I know that sounded like the end. But it really isn't; I promise. There will be a lot more coming. Probably ten chapters more. And I know Mark and Roger are getting really sappy. But they are so cute together and I can't help myself. Oh and Mimi's problems are the creation of my friend Hayden. Most of the last chapter and the flashback are his. Anyway you know what's next. Hit that little button that says "Go" and review. Do you like Hayden's writing, or should I fire him?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

At a quarter to five Mark and Roger walked outside of their house to find a car sitting in their driveway. Roger recognized it as belonging to Lanna, his former agent. She was sitting in the car and looked up as they came out of the house and got out of the car.

"Hey Roger." she said as she walked toward them, "How's life been treating you since we last saw each other?"

"Um okay." Roger answered. "What are you doing here Lanna?"

"Can't a girl come see her old friend from time to time without getting the third degree?" Lanna asked innocently.

"So we're friends now?" Roger asked uncertainly.

"Of course."

"Okay." Roger said slowly. "You remember my uh- my, you remember Mark right?" He realized he really didn't know what to call Mark.

"Yes, it's good to see you again Mark." Lanna was saying.

"You too Lanna. But we're kind of running late for a very important meeting so we'll have to talk to you later." Mark said going toward his car.

"Yeah, we are." Roger concurred.

"That's okay. I'll be in town for a while so I'll stop by later. See you guys." Lanna headed back to her car and then drove away. Mark sighed and then got into the car.

"Come on Roger, we're going to be late if we don't leave now." he called impatiently. Roger got in the car beside Mark and looked at him sideways.

"What was all that about?" he wanted to know.

"All what?"

"The whole 'we're running late for an important meeting thing'. What was that?" Roger clarified.

"We are running late and it is important." Mark said as he drove. "Plus I don't like her." he added softly.

"Why not?" Roger asked.

"Because she was all upset when she found out we were together; and now she all of a sudden wants to come back and be your friend. It just doesn't seem right to me, that's all." Mark explained.

Roger looked over at him, touched in spite of himself. "Aww you love me don't you? That's so sweet."

"Oh shut up." Mark countered with a smile.

It took them all of an hour to get from the ferry to the city. But they still got there in time. As they entered the Life Café, they saw that Collins, Jaylah, Arty, Ana, Maureen, Joanne and Sara were already there and sitting in their usual spot.

"Hey you guys." Roger greeted as they came in. "Hello Miss Ana. Did you have fun with Collins?"

"Yeah. Your friends are really cool Roger." she replied.

"They're okay." Roger said back grinning at them all. They sat down and the waiter came over.

"How are my favorite Bohemians?" he said. "The usual for you all?"

"Yeah with a soy burger Ana here." Mark said.

"What's a soy burger?" she wanted to know.

"It's food. You'll like it." Roger told her. He then turned to look out of the window and saw Mimi and a dark haired man getting out of a car. He nudged Mark.

"Here they come." he whispered to him. Mark turned look.

"We'll let's get ready for this." he said back.

They sat there making idle chit chat until Mimi came in. She smiled when she saw all of her friends assembled at the table.

"Hello everyone." she greeted them. "This is Darren. Darren you remember Sara, Mo, Jo and their daughter Jaylah don't you?"

"Of course." Darren said. "Hello ladies."

"Hey." they chorused.

"And this is Collins, Mark, and Roger. Not too sure about the kids though." she continued.

Roger took up the introductions then. "The strawberry blond is Mark's and my new daughter Anastasia." he said deliberately looking at Darren.

"And I'm Arty. A friend of Jaylah's." Arty chimed in. Ana got up and walked over to Mimi.

"You have to be Mimi." she said.

"You're right I am." Mimi said. "How did you know?"

"Roger talks about you and I just knew." Ana told her.

Mimi looked over at Roger. "Aww you talk about me Roger? I'm touched." she said grinning.

Roger rolled his eyes at her. "Don't flatter yourself." he said scornfully. "It wasn't all good stuff I said."

"What's got your panties in a twist, gay boy?" Darren said just as scornfully.

"No one was talking to you dancer boy." Roger spat back.

"What's your problem Roger?" Mimi wanted to know.

"Nothing." He said harshly. "Are you sure you're okay? Still taking your AZT and all? And taking care of that baby I hope."

Mimi just looked at him with hurt in her eyes. "Thanks a lot Sara." she said finally.

"Hey, I thought they should know. Aren't they your family too?" Sara said back.

"I thought Roger was, but now I don't know." Mimi said back sadly. "Are you still my family Roger?"

"I don't know that I want to be a part of a family that hates me Mimi." he said softly.

"Who hates you Roger?" Mimi wanted to know.

He just looked at Darren and raised an eyebrow. "Darren doesn't hate you." Mimi told him. "He just doesn't know you."

"Honey." Darren said. "If Roger already knows I don't like him ten maybe I shouldn't pretend that I do."

"Not now Darren." Mimi said bitterly. "You know, all I wanted was for us all to get together every once in a while. My friends are important to me and I wanted to be able to see them. But not like this. If you all are going to act like children then I don't think I want to stay here."

Everyone stared at her, speechless. Little Mimi had never spoken to them like that. She had tears in her eyes and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"We just had this conversation last year when Mark and Roger weren't speaking." she continued. "Do we really need to have it again? Can't we all just get along for once? If Angel were here she would be ashamed of how-" she broke off sobbing.

Maureen stood up. "Mimi sweetie, you're yelling at us like this involves everyone. But really this is between you and Roger. There's too many things left unsaid between the two of you. And now the man you are supposed to be marrying comes in with an attitude towards Roger. I think you three need to work this out." she said calmly.

"I agree." Collins said. "You guys haven't really talked about what happened between you. So I suggest we try this again."

Mark, Joanne and Sara agreed that that was for the best and they stood up to take their leave.

"I don't have anything to say to her." Roger said as he headed out the door. "Mark grab Ana and come on or I'm leaving without you." he called back.

Mark exchanged glances with the group as he collected his daughter and made to follow Roger. "I'll try to talk to him you guys. Call me tomorrow." he said. Ana waved at every one. "It was nice to meet you all." she said and followed Mark out the door.

Mimi turned to Darren. "I want to go home." she told him. "I don't feel that good anymore."

Darren nodded. "Okay then, Let's go."

It was a very silent car ride back to Long Island. Roger was driving very fast and Mark kept glancing at him wanting to say something.

Finally he settled for, "You need to slow down." Roger didn't respond but he did ease off the gas a little to slow the car down. Ana was asleep in the backseat when they arrived at their house. Roger jumped out of the car, opened the front door and went inside. Mark sighed and gathered Ana up into his arms and carried her to her bedroom and put her to bed. Then he went back and made sure the front door was closed. Finally he made his way into the bedroom.

"Roger." he said as he came in.

"Did you put Ana to bed?" Roger asked abruptly.

"I did." Mark responded. "You want to talk about it?"

"No." Roger said quickly. "I really don't."

"Whatever, just don't keep it all bottled up Rog. We wouldn't want your pretty little curly head to explode." Mark rebutted as he headed to the bathroom.

Roger shook his head and allowed a small smile to form on his lips. A few minutes later he walked into the bathroom, took off his clothes and slipped into the shower with Mark.

"You left me in there to mope." he complained.

"Because you said you didn't want to talk about it." Mark said back.

"I always say that. You're supposed to make me talk about it. It's the only way I'll get it off my chest."

"Sorry." Mark said laughing. "Now could you get out so I can finish my shower?"

Roger shook his head, spraying Mark with water form his wet curls. "Why don't I just take my shower with you? We don't want to waste water now do we?"

Mark grinned at him ruefully. "No we don't want that."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning Mark woke up first. He lay in bed looking at Roger sleeping peacefully next to him. They had taken a very long shower last night, during which, they discussed what they were going to do about Mimi. As they got ready to get out of the shower, Roger placed his hand on Mark's arm.

Mark had turned to him. "What is it?" he had asked.

"I think I need to tell Ana about April and my AIDS." Roger said softly. "It just seems like it's the right thing to do. Plus I may not have that much longer to live and I want her to know why."

Mark had nodded. "Hey, it's your story to tell babe." he told Roger. "I think you should tell it if you feel ready."

Roger smiled. "I do." he said.

Now it was morning and Roger was still asleep. So Mark decided to go have some time with Ana. He got out of bed and dressed quickly. Then he opened the bedroom door and went into the hallway. He heard the familiar chords of Muzetta's Waltz coming from Ana's room.

Mark stood in her doorway listening to her play. She finished playing and he applauded. Ana blushed and took a small bow.

"You have no idea how many times I have heard that played incorrectly." Mark told her with a grin. "It's so refreshing to hear it the right way."

"Oh Mark." Ana said laughing.

He laughed too. "I'm serious." he told her. "So how about we watch some Harry Potter before our Roger wakes up?" he then suggested.

"Yeah!" She said, bouncing out of the room ahead of him.

"See, this movie proves that Harry doesn't always need Dumbledore's help to survive." Mark said.

"Yeah he did a good job of getting away from Voldemort, but if Dumbledore hadn't come busting in, Harry would have been at the mercy of Barty Crouch Jr." Ana said back.

"That's true." Mark had to admit. "Dumbledore always seems to know what's going on. It's hard to believe he fell for Snape's ruse and got killed."

Ana looked up at him. "This may sound crazy, but I don't think he's dead. I mean he was on top of every thing all the time. He wouldn't let himself go down without a fight. His body may be gone, but maybe not his soul." she said.

Mark's eyes widened. "But the only way for him to have done that would be…" he trailed off.

Ana nodded. "A Horcrux." she said. "I think he might have made one."

"But that's evil Dark Magic." Mark argued. "He wouldn't."

Ana shrugged. "He might have thought it was necessary. If Dumbledore was willing to do anything to stop Voldemort then he would've had to make sure nothing could happen to himself."

"Okay, so let's say that Dumbledore did make a Horcrux. What would it be? He has dozens of little trinkets." Mark said.

"I know. Personally I'm leaning toward Fawkes." Ana responded.

"Fawkes!" Mark exclaimed. "The phoenix?"

"Yeah." Ana replied. "Voldemort might be using Nagini the snake as one; so why couldn't Dumbledore use Fawkes? I mean phoenixes can't be killed right? They just keep regenerating. So what better place to house your soul?"

"Now that's an interesting theory." Mark commended her. "I have one of my own. Would you like to hear it?"

"Of course."

"Well you know how Dumbledore has all those valuable things, like Gryffindor's sword and the Sorting Hat right?" he asked.

Ana nodded.

"What if Dumbledore is descended from one of the founders?"

"Which one?" she wanted to know.

"I think Godric Gryffindor. I mean you don't see him pulling out anything of Hufflepuff's or Ravenclaw's and you know the only thing he had from the Slytherin line was that ring he got from Gaunt's house." Mark told her. "Also I think that Percy Weasley might go over to Voldemort's side."

"I agree with you on that one." Ana said. "Percy is just too ambitious. He would sell out his own family to make himself look good. Voldemort might offer him a place of power and then Percy would be putty in his hands."

Mark nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Oh God, not Harry Potter talk again." Roger said groaning as he came into the room.

"Good morning to you too Rog." Mark said getting up to kiss him. Roger returned the kiss and then went over and ruffled Ana's hair.

"How you doing kid?" He asked her fondly.

"I'm fine. How you doing Roger?" she asked back. "You seemed really upset last night."

"I was upset last night." Roger told her. "But it's a new morning and I'm not going to let what happened get me down."

"Good." Mark said. He gave Roger a questioning look. Roger nodded. "So I've got to be at work in an hour. I need to get ready to go."

Roger grinned at Mark's retreating back. "In addition to being the mother figure he's also the workaholic parent." he told Ana. Then he got serious. "Anastasia, do you think I could talk to you for a bit?" he asked timidly.

"Of course you can." Ana said. "What's up?"

Roger took a deep breath. "You know how last night I asked Mimi if she was still taking her AZT."

"Yeah." Ana replied. "I've heard Mark tell you to take yours. What is AZT anyway?"

"It's short for Azidothymidine. It's a pill that helps people who have HIV and AIDS." Roger told her softly.

"So Mimi has HIV?" Ana wanted to know.

"No, she has full-blown AIDS now." he said. "Like me."

Ana's grey eyes widened. "But how did you get it?" she asked him.

"By being stupid." He responded. "Years ago when I was young and had dreams of being a rock star, I met this girl. She was so pretty and funny and she supported my music. Her name was April. She had these friends who were into drugs, eventually they became my friends too. They told me I could sound so much better as a musician if I played when I was high. I wanted more than anything to play better so I started getting high all the time. Sometimes I wouldn't even remember the concerts I played. Then April started using drugs too."

"What drug did you use?" Ana wanted to know.

"Mostly any that I could get my hands on. But I liked heroin the best. It gave me the biggest rush. April used it too. Then one day she found out she was HIV positive."

"Did she get it from you?" Ana asked.

Roger shook his head. "No, it came from all of us sharing one dirty needle when we would shoot up. So April had HIV that turned out to be full blown AIDS. I didn't know until-" he broke off.

Ana went over and sat down next to him. She wrapped her arms around him and said: "It's okay Roger."

Roger smiled at the girl. "I didn't know until I came home one day and April had slit her wrists and left me a note that said 'We've got AIDS'. So I went and got myself checked out. She was right, I did have AIDS. Then I gave up drugs forever. I didn't tell you all this to freak you out or anything. I just wanted you to know what is going on, because I won't always be here. One day this disease is going to catch up with me and I'll be gone." Then he saw the worried look on Ana's face and he smiled at her again.

"But don't worry. That won't happen for a while. I've still got plenty of time to get to know you Ana. And I intend to use it." He said.

"Does Mark have-?" Ana asked timidly.

Roger shook his head. "No not Mark. He was too smart for that. Still is. But Collins has AIDS, not Maureen or Joanne. Or Sara as far as I know." he told her.

There was a long silence then. But it was soon broken by Mark who came rushing into the room with his keys in one hand and his camera bag in the other.

"Bye you two." he said as he headed toward the door. "I'll be home by six. Be good."

"I will." Ana said.

"I was actually talking to Roger." Mark said with a grin. "I know you'll be good." Then he turned to Roger. "Walk me out?" he asked.

"Yeah okay." he agreed getting up and following Mark.

When they got outside Mark looked at Roger. "So how did it go?"

"It went well." Roger responded. "She took it very well. I'm proud of her."

Mark smiled and kissed Roger on the lips. "I'm proud of _you_." he said. "And now I am late, so I'll see you later." They kissed once more and then Mark got in the car and drove away.

Roger went back into the house and found Ana reading a Harry Potter book. He sat down beside her. "Why don't you explain to me what's going on in these books and why you and Mark like them so much." he suggested.

"Okay." Ana agreed and promptly began telling him all about Harry's adventures.

Mimi woke up that morning feeling very lightheaded and upset. Darren had left her a note that said he had to go into work early and for her to stay in bed.

"I don't want to stay in bed." Mimi said to herself. So she got up and got ready to go to work.

When she arrived at the Pascal Theater Sara was just walking up to it. She turned and saw Mimi coming and her eyes widened in surprise.

"I didn't think you were coming in today Mimi." she commented. Mimi just kept walking like she didn't hear her.

Sara sighed. Apparently Mimi was still upset that she had told Mark and Roger about her problems. "Mimi please talk to me. I only told Mark and Roger because I was worried about you." she called as she hurried to catch up with Mimi.

Mimi finally stopped. "Sara," she said turning to face her. "there is no need to be worried about me. I'm going to be fine."

"How do you know that Mimi?" Sara asked softly. "You could be pregnant for all you know. Why don't you just go to the doctor?"

"I don't need to." Mimi said curtly. ""Now come on or we'll both be late for practice and I'm the teacher."

Sara had no choice but to follow her into the dance studio of the theater.

Author's Note: Sorry these chapters are getting longer and longer. It is going to take me a while to be able to update so I want to keep the story moving. Don't worry though I promise I will try t get more frequent with the chapter updates of this and RENT: The Real Story.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Dance practice was going well and Sara put her worries about Mimi out of her mind for a while as she danced. When practice was over, she went into the dressing rooms to shower and change into her street clothes. Suddenly she heard a crash and a scream. She rushed back out into the hallway and saw a crowd of people.

"What's going on?" she asked one of the male dancers who was in the crowd.

"Someone just collapsed over there." he responded. "I think it was that little Hispanic senior dancer."

"Oh God Mimi." Sara whispered and pushed her way through the crowd. When she got to the front, she saw Mimi lying on the floor looking very pale. The theater's director was standing beside her.

"Oh Sara, here you are." she said. "We've called the paramedics and they should be on the way. Do you know where Darren is?"

Sara shook her head. "No I don't. Is she going to be okay?"

"I can't answer that." the director said solemnly. "She's breathing, but faintly. Has she eaten anything lately?"

"I- I don't know." Sara said. Then there was a commotion by the door as the ambulance arrived and the paramedics pushed their way through the crowd.

"She's over here!" Sara called to them.

"What happened here?" one of them asked.

The director took up the story. "She was walking to the dressing rooms and she just passed out. We don't know when the last time she ate was, and we can't find her fiancé."

"Okay we'll take it from here." the paramedic said. Then he turned to Sara. "Are you family?" he wanted to know.

"No but she's my friend and wherever you're taking her I'm going." Sara said firmly.

The paramedic nodded. "Okay then, let's go." They lifted Mimi onto the stretcher and carried her out of the theater and into the ambulance.

Mark was arguing with one of his assistant camera operators about the placement of a shot when his cell phone rang. He saw that it was Sara calling and answered it.

"Sara I can't really talk right now."

"Mark, Mimi's in the hospital." she said frantically.

"What! What happened?" he wanted to know.

"She just collapsed in the middle of the theater after practice today. Can you call every body else and meet us here?"

"I'll try. Where are you?" Mark said.

"At the 35th street hospital on the fourth floor. Hurry." And with that, she hung up. Mark's heart rate sped up drastically as he snapped his phone shut.

"Mr. Davis?" the assistant said. "What about the shot?"

"Just do whatever. I've got to go." Mark called back as he raced toward his car. Once inside he took a deep breath and called Roger.

Ana was reading, and Roger was in the kitchen making lunch when the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Ana called out as she put her book down. "Hello Davis residence." she said when she picked up the phone.

"Ana, it's Mark. Where's Roger?" Mark asked trying to keep the panic out of his voice so as not to scare her.

"He's in the kitchen. What's wrong Mark?" Ana said, not fooled.

Mark quickly told her what had happened and then said, "Just tell him to call Maureen, Joanne and Collins and then to meet us at the 35th street hospital okay?"

"I got it. Is Mimi going to be okay?" Ana said quietly.

Mark sighed; "We'll just have to see." he said sadly and hung up. Roger came out of the kitchen with a tray of sandwiches just then.

"Who was that?" he wanted to know.

"That was Mark. Mimi collapsed at the Pascal Theater and she's in the hospital now. Mark wants you to call Maureen, Joanne and Collins and then to meet everyone at the 35th street hospital." Ana informed him. Then she looked at Roger. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. For all the color had drained from his face and he looked very afraid.

"Is Mimi alright?" Roger asked.

"No one knows, but the sooner we get there the sooner we'll find out." Ana said.

Roger nodded. "Okay, I'll call everyone. You pack up the sandwiches."

"What for?" Ana asked confused.

"Those are good sandwiches. And trust me, whenever my friends get worried they get hungry."

Ana laughed and set about packing the sandwiches up.

An hour later Roger and Ana came into the hospital. Ana looked around and saw Sara sitting on a chair in the corner. She nudged Roger and pointed this out. He went over to her.

"Sara," he said softly. "Sara you okay?" She had her head in her hands and she was crying hard.

"S-she won't w-wake up Roger." she sobbed as she looked up. "She j-just w-won't." then she broke off sobbing uncontrollably.

Roger sat down and put his arms around her. "It's going to be okay Sara. Mimi'll get through this, she will." he said as much for Sara's benefit as for his own. "Where's Mark?" he asked then.

Sara took a deep shuddering breath. "He's in there with Mimi and the doctors. They were trying to fill out the paperwork but he didn't know Mimi's full name." she told him.

Just then, Mark himself came out into the waiting room. He sighed with relief when he saw Roger sitting there.

"Oh thank goodness you're here." he said coming over to him. "Mimi won't wake up and we need to fill out her forms."

"Where's that moron of a fiancé of hers?" Roger wanted to know. "Shouldn't he be the one filling out the forms and stuff?"

"No one can reach him Roger. So could you just help us out?" Mark asked with a sigh.

"Yeah okay." Roger agreed reluctantly. "What do you need to know?"

Mark pulled out the forms. "What's her whole name, date of birth, blood type, and insurance carrier?" he asked.

"Her whole name is Maria Rosario Carrera Marquez, she was born on August 10, 1970, her blood type is A and I have no idea about the insurance thing, but if Darren doesn't show up soon you can put ours down for her." Roger said.

"Wait," Mark said. "If she was born in 1970 then she's not thirty like she's been telling everyone. She's actually-"

"Thirty-two." Roger finished for him. "She's been lying about her age for years." Just then the doctor came out.

"Hello," she said pleasantly. "My name is Dr. Bryson."

"Is Mimi going to be okay?" Roger asked her.

"Well that remains to be seen." Dr. Bryson answered. "She hasn't woken up in the two hours she's been here and that's not good. I understand that she has AIDS and I heard from the young lady that came in with her, that her white blood cell count was low. We want to run some tests, but not until she wakes up."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mark asked her.

Dr. Bryson sighed. "We need her to wake up. Maybe one of you could go in there and talk to her. It might stimulate a reaction."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Everyone turned and looked at Roger. "What?" he demanded. "You think _I_ should go in there? I am probably the _last_ person who should go in there. We should just wait for Mo to get here, and then let her yell and wake Mimi up. Lord knows she's loud enough."

"Ha ha. You're so funny Roger." said a voice from the hospital entrance. "It's nice to see you can still crack jokes at a time like this. And for the last time, _stop_ calling me Mo!" Maureen said scolding as she and Joanne made their way into the waiting room.

"Sorry." Roger said. "It's just I'm the wrong person to be going in there. Tell her Joanne." He said appealing to his other friend.

Joanne looked up at Roger. "Actually," she said thoughtfully. "You probably should be the one to go. Mimi would probably appreciate it. And even if she didn't, her anger at you being in there would probably be enough to wake her up." she reasoned.

Roger realized he was going to be outvoted on this matter so he sighed and went over to the doctor. "I'll go in." he said.

Dr. Bryson smiled. "You must be an ex-boyfriend." Roger glared at her. "Um, but that's not really relevant right now." she continued quickly. "She's right this way." He followed her down the hall and into a small room that was nicely furnished. It was painted a pale pink and the T.V. was tuned to a Spanish soap opera. The doctor shut the door and left Roger alone with the pale Mimi lying on the hospital bed. It hurt his heart to see her hooked up to so many machines and looking so frail.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed and cleared his throat loudly. "Hey Meems." he said somewhat timidly. "Uh, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for blowing up like that last night. I was just really upset." he stopped. Mimi still lay motionless on the bed. So he continued to talk to her.

"Your room is nice. It's pink. I don't really like it, but I know it's your favorite color so it's nice. And the _telenovelas_ are on. I know how much you love those too." Suddenly tears flooded his deep green eyes. "Look Mimi, I don't want you to die. You can't die. Everyone will miss you so much. You know they're all outside waiting and hoping that you'll wake up and get better. So many people love you Mimi. _I _love you." He stopped and laughed to himself. "If this was one of those cheesy soap operas you would have woken up just as I told you I loved you. But I guess it doesn't work that way if the guy who says it is in love with another guy. Wish it did though. I-"

He had stopped looking at Mimi so he didn't realize her hand had moved until it was clutching his. He looked at her, his heart beating quickly.

"Roger," Mimi said softly. "You talk too much. Just sitting here listening to you almost put me in a coma." she giggled weakly.

"Oh Mimi." Roger exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"I'm lying in a hospital bed with tubes sticking out of everything but my ass. That's your definition of okay?" she said back. "Why are you in here Roger? I thought you didn't like me anymore."

"Didn't I just say I loved you?" Roger said exasperatedly.

"Oh you always say that."

Roger rolled his eyes. "Look, I was just minding my own business making sandwiches for me and my daughter, when I get the call that you have collapsed and are in the hospital. So I come dashing over here to see if you're okay. I give them your information and offer to let you use our Mark's and my insurance because your bum of a fiancé isn't even here. Then the doctor says someone has got to come in here and talk to you. And lo and behold, everyone volunteers me! So here I am trying to tell you that I care and all you can do is be a bitch!" he finished.

Mimi lowered her eyes. "You didn't tell them how old I really am did you?" she

asked with a small smile.

Roger sank down on the bed beside her. "Of course I did." he told her. "They might have needed the information to save you. I would do anything to save you." he told her quietly.

Mimi leaned over and kissed Roger firmly on the mouth. When she pulled back, he blinked at her astonished.

"That was completely lost on you wasn't it?" she asked him.

Roger nodded. "Sorry, but my heart belongs to Mark and only Mark now."

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Gay guys." she said sighing.

Roger smiled at her. "So are we cool then?"

"_Si_, we are." was the response. Roger looked into her deep brown eyes.

"Talk to me then. Tell me what's going on with you. Why are your white blood cells low? And what's up with this baby thing?" he asked her.

Mimi looked up at him and heaved a big sigh. "I want a child Roger. I'm sick of being sick and not being able to start a family. Darren doesn't want to have children because of my AIDS. So I started taking fertility medicine. The doctor who prescribed it said it was not to be taken with any other medication."

"So you quit taking your AZT?" Roger asked incredulously. "That's crazy!"

"No it isn't." Mimi said stubbornly. "I want a family. Even you and Mark have a child and you're both men!"

"That's because we got ours through the miracle of adoption Mimi. You could do that." Roger informed her.

"I guess." she said shrugging.

"Listen, I really should go out there and tell everyone that you're awake. They've all been worried sick, especially Sara. But this isn't over okay? When you get out of here, and you will, we are going to finish this conversation." Roger informed her getting up from the bed.

Mimi nodded and smiled grudgingly. "Alright. Just don't tell them I kissed you. It wouldn't be proper. And have some one bring me some food. Being unconscious makes me hungry."

"Yes Miss Marquez." Roger said sweeping her a bow. "You wish is my command." He laughed to himself as he made his way back up the hall and into the waiting room. As he entered, everyone looked up at him anxiously. He saw that Collins had arrived.

"So is she okay?" Collins asked worriedly.

Roger grinned. "Yeah, she just woke up so she should be okay now. Where's that doctor?" he asked then.

"I'm right here." Dr. Bryson said coming up to him. "Did I just hear you say that she was awake?"

"That's right, so go in there and run your tests. Find out what's wrong with my friend." Roger ordered.

Dr. Bryson nodded. "Yes but, wouldn't you all like to go in there and see Miss Marquez first? I know you were worried. We can wait until after that to treat her I think." They all agreed that they wanted to see Mimi so they got up and headed towards her room. Mark stopped and looked back at Roger.

"You okay?" he asked.

Roger smiled back at him. "Yeah. We had a nice little talk when she woke up and we're cool now." he said.

Mark nodded and followed everyone to Mimi's room. Mimi was laying there watching the television when they all burst in.

"Oh Mimi!" Sara exclaimed and ran over to hug her friend. "You're alive. I was so scared."

"_Nombre de Dios _Sara" Mimi said laughing. "I'm okay. You'd think I was dying the way you're carrying on."

"How can you be so sure you're not?" Maureen asked from where she was standing in the corner. "You haven't been taking care of yourself and it would serve you right."

"Maureen can it." Mark ordered. "That's not called for." Then he turned to Mimi. "She's partly right though, you haven't been taking care of yourself and that's dangerous. You are luck to be alive."

Mimi sighed and hung her head. "I know that Mark. Roger already lectured me enough about that. So could you not?" she sniffed as she tried to hold back her tears. "I know what I did was stupid, but I just didn't know what else to do." She quickly told the others what she had told Roger.

Maureen walked over and sat on the bed. "Meems, you could have talked to someone. You could have talked to me. I understand better than anyone about wanting to have a family but not being able to produce one."

Collins came over next. "She's right Mimi. Anyone in this room with the exception of Sara, can relate to wanting a family but not being able to have one. Granted it's for a different reason than yours but still. We need to be able to talk to each other, all of us." he said wisely.

Mimi looked over at Joanne. "Are you going to yell at me too Jo?" she asked softly.

Joanne shook her head. "No," she said. "You already know how stupid you were being and you don't need me to elaborate on that. All I have to say is that having a family isn't as easy as Mark and Roger make it look." Mark turned to stare at her. "Oh come on Mark. We all can see how easy it is for you two. I mean your kid is perfect. She likes the same thing you two like and she's sweet and quiet."

"But-" Mark protested.

"I'm not blaming you for anything Mark." Joanne continued. "I'm just saying that Mimi shouldn't rush into anything. Trying to trick Darren into accepting a child is no way to go about it."

"That's right." Sara spoke up. "Because there's no guarantee that he'll stay with you if you do get pregnant. He's not that nice of a guy."

Mimi looked at her shocked. "You don't like Darren?"

"No. I really don't." Sara responded gently.

"What about the rest of you?" Mimi asked them. "Do you like him?"

"You should know I don't." Mark said.

"I wasn't really all that taken with him myself." Joanne replied.

"He's rude and insulting and I think you could do so much better." Collins told her.

"He's an ass basically." Maureen said to sum it up.

Mimi sighed again. Then the doctor came in.

"Miss Marquez," she said. "we're ready to begin the tests whenever you are." Mimi looked at her friends.

"I'm ready." she said. Then she turned to the others. "Mark, I know you are Roger's one and only but could you tell him that I love him, and that I never stopped?"

Mark gave her a smile. "Of course." he said warmly.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

While the others were in Mimi's hospital room, Roger and Ana stayed in the waiting room.

"Are you sure you're okay Roger?" Ana asked.

Roger smiled at the girl. "Yes, I'm fine. I just kind of wish that I'd never left Mimi now." he said. Then seeing Ana's look he added, "Not that I regret being with Mark, or that I want to leave him. It's just that if I had stayed with Mimi she wouldn't be in this predicament." Then he shook his head. "No, I can't start blaming myself for this. It would've happened regardless."

Then Mark and the others came back out. "Mimi's getting ready to go through her tests now and she wants us to go on home." Mark told Roger.

Roger nodded and said "Yeah okay. Did anyone get in touch with Darren?" The friends looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I'm going to go to her house and see what's up with him because this is ridiculous." Sara said angrily. "He needs to be here."

"Can I ride with you?" Roger asked her. "I want to give him a piece of my mind."

"I'm not so sure that's wise Rog." Joanne commented.

Roger looked at her. "I promise I won't kill him or anything. But Mimi's one of my closest friends. I can't just sit here and let that asshole treat her this way. It isn't right."

"He does have a point." Mark said. Then he turned to Roger. "Okay you go with Sara and I'll take Ana home. Just be sure you tell Darren what's what from me too. Okay honey?"

Roger grinned and kissed Mark. "You got it babe." he said.

Roger followed Sara out to her car and got in. He looked over at the younger woman and saw that she still looked upset.

"You alright Sara?" he asked with concern.

"I just really hope Mimi's okay. And I'm just really upset with Darren right now." she told him.

"Did anyone actually call him?" Roger asked.

"I left messages on his cell phone and their house phone. He was working with dancers at the Neederlander Theater today and I asked them to give them the message as well. So he has to know something by now." Sara said. When they pulled up outside of Mimi and Darren's house, they saw that there was a car in the driveway.

"That's Darren's car." Sara told Roger as she was getting out of the car. "So he's home then. I'll kill him."

"Whoa there Sara." Roger said coming up behind her. "No killing okay? Besides if there was going to be any killing I would do it."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm older and can handle the jail time. Trust me I've got experience." Roger said smiling.

"Whatever" Sara said back. They went up to the front door and Roger rang the doorbell. After several seconds, Darren opened the door.

"Hey Sara, you" he greeted them. "Come on in." They obeyed and walked into the house.

"Darren didn't you get any of my messages?" Sara asked him.

"Yeah I got them. How is my girl?" Darren asked her.

"She's better now. You would have known that if you had come to the hospital to see for yourself. Where were you?" Sara said.

"I've been here. I would've rushed over there if you hadn't said you and all the others were with her. I thought you had things under control and I really didn't want to have to see Faggo over here and his lover. And I'm sure they didn't want to see me."

Sara just gaped at him speechless. So Roger jumped in. "So, because you knew that Mark and I were going to be there, you decided not to make sure that your future wife was okay. That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard of. It's true I wasn't that happy about having to see you there; but when I got the call that Mimi was in the hospital I got there as fast as I could. Because I care about Mimi more than I hate you. And that's saying something because I really, really, really, hate you."

Darren narrowed his eyes. "I don't have to put up with this in my own home." he said to Roger.

"Yes," Roger replied, "you do. Apparently, you don't know just how special that woman you're marrying is. Mimi helped to raise five brothers and sisters. Then when she was fifteen, she ran away to New York and lived and supported herself. Granted it wasn't the best way to make money, but she still had some."

"Um yeah," Darren interrupted. "During the course of all this, didn't she also get hooked on heroin and contract HIV, which then developed into full blown AIDS? Yeah that sounds really responsible to me." he scoffed.

"Yes she did. But she also had enough sense and responsibility to get off drugs and get clean. And she took care of her AIDS, at least until she met you." Roger responded.

Darren just stared at Roger confused. "What do you mean until she met me? I tried to help her and take care of her."

Sara jumped in then. "Darren, she quit taking her AZT because you said you didn't want to have children with HIV. She started taking fertility medicine so she would get pregnant and you'd have no choice but to keep the child."

"Wait a second," Roger said, realizing something. "That means you two would have to be having unprotected sex for her to get pregnant. Even if Mimi were on the pill or something there would still be the problem that you would contract HIV as well. What's going on, do you want to get AIDS?" he asked.

Darren lowered his eyes. "It doesn't matter because I already have it." he said softly. The silence in the room was deafening.

"Darren," Sara said gently going over to him. "What's going on here?"

He sighed and turned to look at Roger. "You're the last person I would want to tell this to but I already said too much so I might as well keep going. When I was twenty-three, I met this woman. We fell in love and were going to get married. One day she went to a clinic because she thought she was getting sick. It turned out she had HIV. When she told me, I was shocked. So I went and got tested and I found out I had it too. I still planned to marry her, but then the rest of the truth came out."

"How?" Sara asked him.

"Eventually she left me. I came home one day and there was a note from her. It said 'Darren I'm sorry, but I found out I got HIV from my lover, who got it from another man. I'm going back home to my mother. I love you and goodbye.' That's why I have a problem with gay people. And I was also upset with you because I thought you abandoned Mimi in her time of need. Kind of like the woman I loved did to me."

"Hey, I understand more than anyone about girlfriends leaving notes before they leave you. I wasn't always gay though Darren. And I hate that word. It just happened that I fell in love with Mark, who was already closer to me than family. I'm sorry about what happened to you, but don't take it out on me. I had nothing to do with it."

Darren hung his head. "I know, it's just I lived my life pretty simply after that. I didn't interact with gay people except through dancing and even then it was just business. Then I met Mimi when she first started working with me. She was so wonderful, but I was reluctant to get close to her because of my HIV. But then she told me she had it too and things were different and eventually I began to love her."

After he had said all this Sara burst out laughing. "Roger," she said. "That sounds just like what happened when _you_ met Mimi. Apparently you and Darren have more in common than everyone thought."

Darren looked at Roger. "What happened when you met Mimi?" he wanted to know. So Roger took a deep breath and told his story to Darren who listened attentively. When he was done, Darren smiled at him for the first time ever. "I guess we really do have some things in common then." he commented.

Roger smiled back and then groaned. "See, I was all set to come over here and yell at you. I was even supposed to yell at you from Mark too. But now I think I like you."

"I think I like you now as well." Sara told him. "But the others still kind of hate you though. And if they don't like you then Mimi might not marry you. So you might want to talk to them. I know they'll understand."

Darren sighed. "I don't want to, but I'll do anything to keep my Mimi. So let's go."

Author's Note: See, Darren's not such a bad guy after all. But will the others feel the same way? I'm going to try to start updating a few chapters at once from now on. I'm a little busy trying to write a book and teach myself how to play the guitar. So until next time. Oh and please review!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Mark and Ana had been home for about an hour when the phone rang. Mark answered it and found that it was Roger who explained every thing to him. Then they arranged to meet back at the hospital in two hours. When he got off the phone, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get that if you want Mark." Ana called from the kitchen.

"It's okay I got it." Mark called back. Then he got up and opened the door. Standing there was Lanna.

"Hey Mark." she greeted. "Is Roger around?"

"No he's at the hospital." Mark told her, moving aside so that she could come in. "Our friend collapsed at work today and they are running some tests on her right now. Roger and her fiancé went to be with her."

"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that." Lanna said genuinely. "Which one of your friends was it?"

"Mimi Marquez." Mark said simply.

"The little Hispanic dancer? That's terrible." said Lanna.

"Yeah well she should be okay." Mark said. "What do you want with Roger exactly? Because I don't really buy that whole you want to be friends thing." he told her, getting to the point.

"Look Mark. Despite what you may think of me, I am a good person. And I do want to be friends with Roger. You too if you'd let me. Yes, I do have a bit of a hidden agenda for coming here; but that's not the only reason, and if you'd just let me explain, I think you'll be okay with it." Lanna said a little angrily.

"Alright." Mark said. "Come and have seat. Tell me what you want and I'll see how I feel about it."

"Thank you." Lanna said, following him into the living room. Once they were both seated she began. "Last week I got a call from Laurel Ducky. You remember her?"

"Isn't she that big shot producer from Europe?"

"The very same." Lanna confirmed. "She was just calling to see how Roger was doing and if he was still out of the music business. I told her that he was happily um- married and that yes- he was still out of the music business. Then she told me that she had somehow gotten a hold of some songs that Roger had written over the years and that she'd like to use them for some of her other artists if Roger didn't mind."

"Wow she really likes Roger's music that much?" Mark asked in awe.

"More than his music Mark. She likes Roger's lyrics and she wants to hire him as a songwriter for her company."

"What would that mean exactly?" Mark wanted to know. "Because he can't go to Europe. I mean he has a child to look after now."

"Ducky assures me that he won't have to travel." Lanna told him. "Basically, Roger would write a song then give it to me and I would have it sent to Ducky in London. Then she would pass it on to whoever would be singing it, and Roger gets full credit for the song."

"That sounds okay." Mark said. "What about payment for his songs."

"It works like this." Lanna explained. "Roger gets paid a basic commission for each song he writes and he gets a tidy sum whenever the song or any part of it is used for media purposes. We can't give him any money for the records sold because technically there not his records. But what he does get will still add up considering he is still getting paid for his own record sales and whenever one of his songs is used."

"Well Lanna, you were right. I do like the sound of that plan. But unfortunately what I think isn't what really matters here. You still have to run it by Roger, though I think he will be pleased with your offer. He's been feeling a little useless lately." Mark told her with a smile.

"Good. Can we effectively say that you like me a little better now?" Lanna asked him.

Mark nodded. "Yeah I think we can." he said.

Author's Note: I know that this was short and kind of pointless, but I just had the urge to write something and not much time to do it. Anyway I hope you all are enjoying the story and I have a question that I hope you guys can help me with. Do you think that Roger and Mimi should have an affair? A friend of mine said they should because it would add drama to the story, but I don't think he should do that to Mark and Ana. What do you think?


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Roger, Darren and Sara arrived at the hospital about an hour later. As soon as they came in, Roger spotted Dr. Bryson and went to talk to her.

"How's Mimi?" he asked.

"Well, we got her test results back and she really is pregnant. Her white blood cell count should be going back up soon, and as long as she takes her medicine she should be fine. She's very weak though so we're going to keep her overnight." the doctor explained.

"Thanks for all your help Dr. Bryson." Roger said. Then he went back to his friends and told them what the doctor had said.

"Mimi's really pregnant?" Darren asked in disbelief. "So I'm going to be a father."

Roger clapped him on the back. "Welcome to my world." he said. "It's pretty great. We should go see if Mimi's awake."

Darren nodded and the three of them went down the hall to Mimi's room. She was awake, sitting on the bed watching television. She looked up as they came into her room.

"Hey you guys what's up?" she greeted them. Sara and Roger moved aside to reveal Darren and Mimi's eyes widened. "Wow, you're here with Darren. That's surprising."

"Yeah well, we had a nice long talk and now that we understand each other better we have become like friends." Roger said. Then he pushed Darren forward. "And now you two need to have a talk yourself."

He and Sara left the two alone. Mimi lowered her eyes. "Darren," she said softly. "I have to tell you something."

He went over and sat on the bed beside her. "No I have something to tell you and it can't wait."

Mimi nodded. "Okay you go first then."

Darren took her hand. "Mimi, I'm sorry. I realize now that I have been taking all my issues and problems out on you and your friends and that's just not right. I told Roger and Sara about my AIDS and how I got it." He stopped as Mimi let out a gasp of surprise, then continued. "I feel so bad for all the horrible things I said about Roger and Mark and I fully intend to make up for them." He took a deep breath. "I also realize how stupid I was not to want to have children with you Mimi. I know you're pregnant now and I want to keep the baby. Even if our child came out with HIV, we would love it and that's all that matters."

Mimi looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Darren." she said. "What are you saying?"

He got down on one knee and Mimi giggled. "I know I've already done this once, but things didn't go as well as they should have. So I say we start over. Maria Rosario Carrera Marquez will marry me? If you say yes I promise that I will help you make all the babies you want and I will love you forever."

Mimi gazed down at him. She saw the sincerity in his eyes and felt the love swell in her heart. There was still that little part of it that would always belong to Roger, but she realized that she had to let that go because Mark had him. So she took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge.

"I believe that we can make this work, and I do love you. So yes Darren Mathews I will marry you." she said pulling him to his feet. They shared a deep kiss as Roger and Sara came back in.

"Do we need to go back out and give you two some more time?" Sara asked.

Mimi giggled and released Darren. "No we're done for now."

"So all's well then?" Roger wanted to know. Darren and Mimi nodded and smiled at each other. "That's good." he continued, "So Mark and everyone else will be here soon, and I spared you having to tell them all that stuff Darren."

Puzzled, Darren asked. "What do you mean?"

"I just told them that you and I had had a long discussion and that we saw eye to eye now. Also that you had reasons why you were so unfriendly at first and that we needed to give you a second chance." Roger explained.

"And they bought that?" Mimi exclaimed.

"Yes, coming from me they did. They all knew that I was the one who hated Darren the most, so if I said he was okay then they knew he had to be. So now they in support of whatever decision you make Mimi."

She smiled at her fiancé. "I've decided to marry Darren as planned." she said. "And we're going to have our baby."

"Oh Meems that's wonderful!" Sara said going to give Mimi a hug. "I'm so happy for you guys."

Mimi returned the hug and then turned to look at Roger. "Are you happy for us too?" she inquired.

Roger was silent for a moment then he smiled at his one time girlfriend. "Yes Meemo. I am very happy for you two. You know Mark, Ana and I will be there for you if you need us."

"Yes we will." Mark said as he entered the room flanked by Ana and Maureen.

Roger turned, "Hey baby. Hey Maureen." he greeted as he hugged Ana. "Where's everyone else?"

"The doctors said that only six people were allowed to visit at a time. So we went first and everyone else is out in the waiting room." Mark answered. Then he went over to Mimi.

"How are you feeling Meems?" he asked her.

"I'm fine Mark." she assured him. "It turns out that I am really pregnant and I am still getting married."

Mark turned to Darren. "I heard you had something to say to me." he said coolly.

"I do." Darren said. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted towards you and Roger. It was wrong and I hope you can forgive me and that we can maybe be friends."

Mark just looked at him for a minute, then he held out his hand and Darren shook it. "I'd like it if we could be friends." he said finally.

Next Maureen stepped forward. "Darren you weren't directly rude to me, but I didn't like you very much. But if these guys can befriend you, then I can too." Darren shook her hand too.

Then to everyone's surprise Ana stepped forward. "I don't know you Mr. Darren," she said. "But Mark and Roger didn't like you and they are my parents now, so I didn't like you either. I take that back now and offer you my friendship too." she said smoothly.

Everyone laughed and Darren shook her hand as well. "It's nice to know you like me Ana Davis." he said. Then he sighed. "I guess I had better go out there and make amends with the rest of your friends." So he left the room.

Then Mark turned to Roger. "Honey, before this day gets any more bizarre you need to go out there as well."

"Why?" Roger asked, confused.

"Because Lanna's out there and she has a proposal for you." Mark replied with a small smile.

"Wait, when did you talk to Lanna and how did she get here?" Roger wanted to know.

Mark shrugged and grinned at Roger's look of confusion. "She stopped by the house while you were gone today and we had a nice little talk and I told her to stop by here. You should go and talk to her, like now." he told him.

"Alright." Roger said still in a state of confusion. He headed out the door and into the waiting room where Lanna was sitting in a chair watching Darren apologize to everyone. "Hey Lanna." he greeted her. "What's going on?"

"Hi Roger." she said back. "Did Mark fill you in?"

"Not really. He just said that you were out here and that you had a proposition for me."

"I do." Lanna confirmed. "Laurel Ducky wants you to be the songwriter for her other artists."

"How exactly would that work?" Roger wanted to know. "I can't go to Europe right now. I have Ana and Mimi might need me or something."

Lanna nodded. "I understand that and I told Ducky. She says all you have to do is write the songs and give them to me. I will be the one who goes to Europe on your behalf. You will get full credit for your songs and you get paid for the songs themselves, and whenever one of them is used in the media. Plus you get money from your own music career."

"That's really generous of Ms. Ducky." Roger said "I'll have to discuss it with my family and then I'll get back to you Lanna. But I really like the idea of still writing my songs and getting paid for it."

"I thought you would." Lanna said with a smile. "Just let me know. Oh and I hope Mimi feels better." then she left. Roger went back into Mimi's room.

"Mark we need to talk." he said.

Mark looked up from where he was talking to Mimi and nodded. "What's up?" he asked coming over to Roger.

"Lanna told you about the job?" Roger wanted to know.

"Yeah. What did you think about it?" Mark replied.

"I think it's great, but I wanted to talk to you before I accepted it."

Mark smiled and kissed Roger on the cheek. "Take the job baby." he said. "You know you want to, and I want you to."

"Okay I'll do it." Roger said with a grin. Then he kissed Mark on the lips. "Thank you for being such a supportive wife."

Mark stuck his tongue out at Roger and they went back over to Mimi.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Every one except Darren and Sara left the hospital around nine o'clock that night. They all stood in the parking lot talking for a while.

"I can't believe Mimi is marrying someone other than Roger." Maureen said reflectively. "It's weird."

"Why do you say that?" Roger wanted to know.

Maureen shrugged. "I just always pictured you guys together that's all." she said. Mark shot her a warning look, and she hastily added, "But you and Mark are so cute together."

Roger wrapped an arm around his love. "Yeah we are." he said. "But I am really happy that Mimi has found someone. Because you are right Maureen, I always did picture myself with her. At least until Mark came back into my life."

Joanne looked over at Maureen. "Honey we need to go, Jay is practically falling asleep on her feet." It was true, both Jaylah and Anastasia were leaning against Mark's car with their eyes closed.

"I guess that's our cue too." Mark said. "It feels good to be a parent."

"Yeah it's pretty great." Maureen agreed as she led her daughter away. "See you guys tomorrow." She and Joanne walked across the parking lot to their car.

"Well I'm riding with them, so I'll see you tomorrow too." Collins said and followed the girls.

"Bye." Mark and Roger called. Then Roger picked Ana up and put her in the backseat of the car. "It feels really good to have someone to take care of." he commented.

"Parenting agrees with you Roger." Mark said. "It gives you a glow. I'm only sorry you had to wait so long to have a child." Then he got in the driver's seat of the car. Roger started to ask what Mark meant by that, but decided against it and climbed into the car as well.

Once they got back to their house Roger said that he'd put Ana to bed. So Mark went and prepared to go to bed himself. He had showered and was in the bed reading by the time Roger came into the bedroom.

"What took you so long?" Mark wanted to know.

"I called Lanna and accepted her offer and then I took my own shower." Roger answered as he got in the bed.

"Oh." Mark said without looking up from his book. "You ready to go to sleep?" he asked after a while.

"No, I thought I would try to write something before bed." Roger told him.

This time Mark just nodded. Roger looked at him. He had been rather quiet ever since they had left the hospital and that wasn't like him. Finally Roger couldn't take it anymore.

"What is wrong with you?" He demanded.

"Nothing." Mark answered, still not looking up. "I'm reading. I happen to like to read Roger."

Roger rolled his eyes. "I know you like to read Mark. I also know that you're lying, because you can never look me in the eye when you lie."

Mark turned a page. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then look me in the eye and tell me you're not upset about something." Roger said.

Mark just continued to stare at his book. So Roger put strong fingers under his chin and turned Mark's face to his. He was surprised to see tears in his sparkling blue eyes.

"Mark?" he asked uncertainly. "Mark, what is it?"

Mark found himself unable to look away from Roger's concern filled green eyes. "Are you really happy being with me?" he asked finally.

Roger chuckled a bit a that. "It's a little late for that now that we're married with a kid." he joked. Then he saw Mark's expression and he grew serious. "Mark why would you even ask that question?"

Mark sniffed. "I don't know. I just see you with Mimi and you're so protective of her and so caring. I can't help but think that Maureen is right. You really are supposed to be with her."

"Mark," Roger said softly. "There will always be a part of me that loves Mimi Marquez. She was a very important part of my life. But you, you are my life. Of course I'm going to try to protect Mimi, hell I'd try to protect Maureen or Joanne if something was wrong with them; simply because they are my family. But you never need to worry that I'm not happy being with you Mark."

"Why?" Mark whispered.

Roger leaned down and kissed him. "Because you are the one I chose to marry. You are the one I gave up my tough guy, rock star image to be with, and you are the one I'm going to raise a child with. Because before there was a Mimi, or a Maureen, or Collins, or Joanne in my life, there was you Mark. It's always been you."

Mark smiled a little at that. "But you said that you thought you were going to end up with Mimi before I came back into your life." he protested.

Roger smiled back at him. "Now Mark, you should know by now that I'm an idiot and I don't think before I speak."

"That's true." Mark agreed. "But I love you in spite of all that."

"Good, because you're going to be stuck with me for the rest of our lives." Roger said poking him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Mark replied.

Ana was supposed to be sleeping, but she was lying awake in her bed listening to Mark and Roger's conversation. She was happy that her new parents were so in love with each other. It was more than she could say for her old family. She didn't really remember them much, they had given her up for adoption when she was three. But she had a vivid image of her mother in her head. Her mother and her aunt. They had been so very different from each other. Her mother had short red hair and a tanned complexion. Her aunt had been a different story. She had long, golden blond hair and fair pale skin. Sadly she knew nothing of her father, and her mother had died when she was one. So the task of raising her fell upon her aunt. But after a year, she too left her and Ana was sent to the Adam Anthony State Adoption Agency and there she stayed until Mark and Roger came for her. Her aunt visited her once and that was the last she saw of her.

Ana sighed as the conversation ceased in the other room. It hurt her to dwell on these memories. She shook her head. Those days were past and now she had a family who would stay with her. Finally she yawned and went to sleep.

The next morning Mark and Roger were up and making breakfast when Ana came into the kitchen.

"Good morning Ana." Roger said when he saw her.

She mumbled a greeting and then sat down at the table. Mark slid a plate of biscuits, sausage, and eggs in front of her. "Here you go." he said. Ana perked up at the food and began to eat. Then Mark and Roger sat down and began to eat as well. Then Roger looked at her.

"Ana it's just occurred to me that we haven't really learned that much about you since you've been here. We've been wrapped up in our own drama." he said.

"What do you mean?" Ana asked him.

"We don't know anything about how you came to be at the adoption place." Mark chimed in. "All Ms. Wilson said was that you were brought there by your aunt when you were really young."

Ana lowered her eyes. "I was three when I went there." she said. "I know because my aunt came to visit me once when I was ten and she told me the whole story. She said it was her final goodbye gift to me."

Mark's eyes widened. "Wow, so what happened? If you want to tell us that is." he added quickly.

"I'll tell you guys what she said. I mean you've shared so much with me in the past couple of days. Besides that's what family does, they share things." Ana said.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Hey you guys, this chapter is about to drop a very large bomb on a couple of people. It was jus something I came up with the other day, I know that the years don't really match up but please just go with it.

_Nine years earlier…_

_A blond woman hurried up to the adoption agency. She was carrying a toddler about three years of age. The owner of the place greeted her at the door. _

_"Ah Miss Ericsson, we've been expecting you. Is this the girl?" _

_"Yes." the blond woman said. "My sister's child. Sadly my sister died two years ago. I was told it was suicide. I tried to care for the child but I can't afford it anymore. So I'll leave her here." _

_"Of course." said the owner. "She'll be perfectly fine here."_

_The blond put the girl down. "Now Ana you have to stay here with these people, okay?"_

_The child called Ana was crying. "But why can't I stay with you Aunt Liz?" she whined. _

_"Because it will be better for you to be here Anastasia." her aunt said. "I promise I'll come back though Ana. When you're older, I'll come back and explain everything to you. I promise." And then she was gone. Leaving the young Anastasia alone at the orphanage._

_The years passed and eventually Ana forgot all about her old family and relished in her new life at Adam Anthony. Then on the day after her tenth birthday her aunt returned as promised._

_"Ana." she said. "I have come back to tell you why you have to stay here." she took a deep breath and began her story._

_Your mother was so young when she had you Ana. Too young, and too foolish. She thought she was in love with this man, your father, when she was only sixteen. He was so charming and cute she said. Soon she was pregnant with you and he left her. Two days after giving birth to you she started disappearing for days on end. But she would always come back to check on you. I found out later that she had found another boyfriend in the city and had started using drugs when she was leaving. Then when you were a year old I got a letter saying she was dead. That she had committed suicide after learning that she had AIDS. I tried to raise you as best I could, but I didn't have the money. That's why I left you here._

_The now ten year old Ana looked up at her aunt. "Can you tell me the names of my parents at least?" she asked._

_Her aunt shook her head. "It wouldn't matter if I did. They're both gone. No, I won't tell you because they aren't your real parents. You'll find those once someone adopts you. You will have a real family then."_

_And that was the last time Anastasia ever saw her._

Back in the present, Ana looked up after telling the story. Mark was had his eyes closed, no doubt processing what he'd just been told. Roger however, was staring at her. His green eyes seeing through her.

He just kept hearing this words in his head. _She committed suicide after learning she had AIDS. _It all made sense to him now. "April." he whispered. Mark's eyes flew open.

"What?" he asked.

"Ana's mom." Roger said. "April is Ana's mom. I can't believe I didn't see it before. They have the same eyes, and April's hair was redder than yours Ana but it's the same texture and everything."

"So you're Ana's father?" Mark asked in disbelief.

Roger shook his head. "No, I'm the other boyfriend from the city. April killed herself a year after met her remember." He grew excited then. "And we met her sister that one time. Her name was Elizabeth."

"That's right." Mark said then. "I remember her. Wow this is so unreal."

Ana was just staring at them. She was having a hard time understanding what was going on. This was a lot to dump on a twelve year old at one time. Her eyes filled with tears and she jumped up and ran to her bedroom.

Mark and Roger exchanged a look. "And she did that why?" Roger wanted to know.

Mark hit him on the arm. "Come on Rog, that was a lot to dump on a twelve year old. She's trying to forget about her old family like her aunt told her to, and she finally thought she could, with us. But now it turns out that even her new family has connections to her old one, who didn't care about her." he explained.

"Oh, that sucks." Roger said. "I didn't want to upset her. I was just excited about this connection we have."

"I know." Mark replied. "You should go tell Ana that, we still have a couple of hours until we have to see Mimi."

Roger nodded and went down the hall and into Ana's room. She was lying on her bed staring at the wall and humming the first song she played for him. He carefully stepped into the room. "Ana?" he asked. "Anastasia please talk to me." She turned her tear stained face to his, so he continued. "I didn't mean to upset you Ana. I was just excited that we had a connection. It seemed like maybe we were meant to have you or something."

"I'm sorry I'm being a brat." Ana said softly. "I just really always hated my mother, and now I find out she's the reason this family might not last that long."

Roger went and sat on the bed beside her. "Hey, this family isn't going anywhere for a long time. Besides that wasn't April's fault. I was stupid and let the drugs take over my life. I don't blame your mother for anything." He leaned over and hugged Ana. "You don't have to worry that this family isn't going to make it Ana. Mark and I love each other and we're going to grow to love you too, so don't worry about it. Don't let April get you down. That's what Mark used to tell me all those years ago."

After a moment Ana hugged him back. "Okay." she said. "Consider it forgotten."

Roger chuckled lightly. "You know this parenting thing is too easy. I have a feeling that when you get older it's going to get a lot harder."

They went back into the living room and told Mark that all was well. Then they all got ready to go to Mimi's house and see her. When they arrived they saw that Maureen, Joanne, and Sara were already there. Collins was coming soon and Jaylah was at a friend's house. Mimi and Darren were making wedding preparations.

"Jeez, you're out of the hospital for a few hours and you're already getting down to business." Maureen commented. "If it were me, I'd be milking it for at least a week."

"Well not everyone is as lazy as you Mo." Mark said. "So anyway Meems, tell us about the wedding."

Mimi smiled. "It's going to be in two months on July 24. I want Maureen to be my maid of honor and Joanne and Sara to be bridesmaids."

Darren looked up then. "I don't have many friends so I was wondering if you'd be my best man Roger." he said shyly. "And I want Mark and Collins to be groomsmen."

Collins came in just in time to hear that. "I'd be honored." he said with a grin.

Roger and Mark looked at each other. "Us too." they said in unison.

"Oh and Roger?" Mimi asked quietly. "I'd like you to be the one who gives me away as well."

Roger grinned at her. "I would love to Mimi." he said.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

On June 24 the sun was warm and the sky was at it's bluest. At Tompkin Square Park a wedding was going on. The bride was a young Hispanic woman. Her gown was white, strapless and had a two foot train. Beside her was a blond man. His curls had tried to be tamed, but they were as unruly as ever.

Mimi looked up the aisle at her fiancé and friends. Her bridesmaids had on pink gowns and the groomsmen, tuxes. Everything was just lovely. She had decided to have the wedding in the East Village because of how much a part of her life it was.

Mimi had made a full recovery from her illness and she was now four months pregnant. Darren kept a careful eye on her as she made her way up the aisle with Roger at her side. She was so happy that it had finally come to this.

Roger too was happy. He was glad that Mimi had finally found someone she could spend her life with, and now she could be as happy as he was with Mark. Her hand was tight on his arm and her grip was a little damp. He smiled and leaned down to speak with her. "Don't be nervous." he whispered.

Mimi returned his smile. "I'm just really excited. Thank you for doing this with me Rog." she whispered back.

"No problem." When they got to the front Mimi let go of Roger and went to stand beside Darren. He smiled down at his bride to be. Roger went and took his place beside Mark. Silently he took Roger's hand in his. The couple shared a wordless smile.

The wedding proceeded and soon Mimi and Darren were pronounced man and wife. All their friends looked on as they shared their first kiss as a married couple. They had all found happiness and new lives.

Two years later…

"Okay Ana, you remember the drill?" Mark asked his daughter for the tenth time. They were playing a little joke on Roger and the rest of their friend.

"Yes Dad, I remember." Ana said with a grin. She had taken to calling Roger and Mark "Daddy" and "Dad" after being with them for about a year. "We've only been over it a hundred times."

Mark smiled and ruffled her hair then stood up and straightened his apron. Roger had called Mark his wife so many times that he was finally going to get him back. He had donned a pink flowered apron and was going to give the appearance of really being a wife. Ana had made cookie batter and Mark slid them into the oven to make it appear that he was baking them. Roger had gone to pick up Mimi and Darren to bring them to their house. They had bought a new one, closer to the city, with the money they had saved from Roger's new job.

"Daddy's coming up the street Dad!" Ana called.

"Okay, time to get into action." Mark responded. Ana took her place in the living room and sat in a chair reading a book.

Roger came into the house a few minutes later, followed by Darren and Mimi who was carrying her 19 month old son Angelo.

"Hey Daddy, hey Aunt Mimi, Uncle Darren." Then she got up and took Angelo from Mimi. "Hey there little guy." she cooed. Then she turned to Roger. "Mom's in the kitchen." she said.

Roger looked at her in confusion. "Mom?" he asked. "What are you talking about Ana?"

Just then Mark came running out. "Honey you're home!" he screeched in a high voice, and he ran over and gave Roger a kiss.

"What the hell?" he asked. "Mark what's wrong with you?"

Mark laughed. "Nothing dear, I just missed you." Then he turned to Mimi and Darren. "Mimi darling, so good to see you and Darren." he kissed her on the cheek. Ana tried to hide her laughter behind Roger's back. Then there was the sound of a timer going off in the kitchen. "Oh the cookies are done!" Mark said and went to get them.

Roger looked so confused that Ana couldn't help but bust out laughing. "Daddy you should see the look on your face."

"What's going on?" Roger asked.

"Dad got tired of you calling him your wife and my mother figure, so he decided to mess with your head a little." she responded.

"Ana you weren't supposed to tell him!" Mark called from the kitchen.

"Sorry Dad!" she called back. "I couldn't help it." Mark came out and grinned at them all. Then he sat down on the couch beside Roger.

"That wasn't very nice Mark." he said.

"You'll get over it sweetie." Mark replied giving Roger a kiss. "Oh and by the way, I'm pregnant!"

"What!" they all exclaimed.

"Just kidding. But the agency called Rog. We're getting another kid. This one's a baby."

"That's great!" Roger said. Then he smacked him on the arm. "Don't you ever do anything like that again. I thought you had lost your mind Mark."

Nevertheless the couple smiled at each other as they're friends and daughter congratulated them. Every one was so happy. All their lives had come full circle at last.

Author's Note: That's the end you guys. The story is OVER! It's been a long journey from No Day But Yesterday, to now. I want to thank everyone who helped give me ideas for this, and everyone who was a character in it. And I want to send a special shout out to Laurel Ducky, who gave me the idea for the ending of this story. Hope you all liked it!


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